


Let's Break The World Some More

by insertfruitpun



Category: The Witchlands Series - Susan Dennard
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Angst, But he is, I'm Bad At Tagging, Multi, all the others are either corrupt or dead, also some evrane idolising, and no hermin does not count, casual leopold hate, eron can stay but he's on thin ice, he didn't choose to be a dumbass you guys, if you know you know, she's not perfect but she's the best role model in the witchlands, sticks and stones do indeed break bones, the hell bards throw some rocks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:21:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 36,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25186300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/insertfruitpun/pseuds/insertfruitpun
Summary: Safiya fon Hasstrel has a mission, one that could change the current state of the world. But the world is much more broken than she thought it was.Joined by allies all across the continent, both old and new, she has to put an end to an agreement that has been killing people for four years.Or: Witchlands Zombie Apocalypse AU
Relationships: Aeduan & Owl (The Witchlands Series), Aeduan/Iseult det Midenzi, Iseult det Midenzi & Safiya fon Hasstrel, Safiya fon Hasstrel/Merik Nihar, Vivia Nihar/Stacia "Stix" Sotar
Comments: 35
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

If Safiya fon Hasstrel was going insane, then her uncle had already gone through the process three times.

As much as she disliked Henrick, he was offering them a safe space. And yet her uncle managed to somehow make her question everything he himself told her with just a few words. It had to be a superpower of his, to ruin everything just when she was getting used to how things were.

"I need your help to unravel what is happening with Henrick." 

Safi was livid. Of course that was all he said. Just one whispered sentence during lunch. What was she supposed to do with no information? How was she supposed to help him? And most importantly, why hasn't she killed him in his sleep yet?

 _Why_ would he even expect her to help him? Eron seemed to trust Henrick a lot four years ago, when he took her away from her life to hide in one of his "safe heavens". Safi didn't want to. She didn't want to leave her best friend, and she didn't want to be trapped in an apartment with her uncle, no matter how much protection it offered.

But he still made her do it. It was bad enough when Safi didn't know Henrick wasn't taking in just anybody. People who couldn't afford his overpriced protection were not worthy of it in his eyes. Money mattered more to him than lives, and he wasn't even trying to hide it.

Safi lashed out once or twice, and not just about it. There was an endless list of things that bothered her about both Henrick and his "protection system".

Every time she dared speak about it, she was banned from having meals with everybody else in the building - the big, hidden, grey building protected by Henrick's guard she was forced to spend four years in - for at least a week. It wouldn't be such a tragedy it Eron was anything but the inattentive asshole he was. She went starving some of those days, simply because he forgot to bring her food.

But that wasn't even the worst part. She could survive going to sleep without food. No, the worst part was that she didn't even know what was going on. They were hiding from something. That was all that Safi knew.

She asked around countless times, and yet no one deigned to answer even the simplest questions of hers. Eron himself avoided them every time, saying that as long as they were there they were protected.

And now he wanted her to help him. To help him do something against the man he assured her was protecting them all this time.

Safi would have found it ironic if it wasn't frustrating. All through lunch she was kept in suspense. They didn't walk together to their cramped apartment on the third floor. They never did. For the first time Safi wished it was different.

She waited for Eron in the sitting room, tapping her fingers on the coffee table. It was something he always lectured her about, but it helped her keep calm. It was the better alternative to just throwing things around whenever she was frustrated, like he did.

Or at least that's what he used to do. There was nothing to throw around in drunk rage here. The whole apartment was so scarcely decorated, containing only the bare necessities. It was simply too small of a space to keep a lot of things in. The bathroom, the sitting room and two bedrooms. The hall could hardly be counted. It was just a tiny square of a room leading to the rest of the apartment.

Safi felt like she was going to explode. If she did, she would have loved to take the whole building with her, along with all the people who wouldn't tell her why they were hiding. What it was that was do dangerous out there that they had to hide, but not dangerous enough to help people regardless of what they could pay.

And then Eron finally walked in. She could hear him locking the door. He never did that. Safi took the situation a lot more seriously after that. Eron fon Hasstrel was never the kind of man to look over his shoulder. He had no reason to.

Until he suddenly had, apparently.

"You need my help with unraveling what?," Safi asked immediately. 

He didn't answer, instead going into his bedroom. Safi refused to go in there for all the four years they spent stuck in the building, but this time she wouldn't avoid the stupid room just to prove a point. 

_"You need my help with unraveling what?"._

Eron sighed, looking through papers on his desk. He still didn't answer. Didn't even look at her.

Safi was going to ask the question once again, this time even louder, emphasising the last part even more, but he finally found what he was looking for.

"This," he said simply, handing her the few papers that were stapled together. All handwritten. "We found these in Henrick's table last week." Eron didn't say who 'we' was, and Safi couldn't even begin to guess who would go around stealing with an old drunk. "He had several copies, and by the time he notices one is missing, you'll be well off to Dalmotti."

Safi wasn't sure she heard him well. "I thought even exiting this prison was forbidden, much less the country." She tried to keep calm, she really did, but it was unsettling to say the least. She left Cartorra a few times, yes, but never alone. Never in the middle of a crisis she knew nothing about.

Eron completely ignored her comment. "Remember Mathew?," he asked. A stupid question, really. He was her mentor as a child, and taught her way more than Eron ever did. "I'm going to need you to get these to him.

"And I don't suppose you'll tell me how to find him?". It would be something a normal person would've done. Safi learned that her uncle wasn't exactly the textbook definition of normal before she learned that the sky was blue. 

There was no way Mathew wasn't in hiding, if the situation was as dire as everything suggested.

"You'll have people to guide you," Eron said, as if that made everything better. It absolutely did not.

"What people? The crazy lady from the second floor? Oh, or maybe that maniac that was screaming and banging on the door a few night ago." Eron shivered slightly at that, and only then did Safi realise that maybe the screaming didn't come from a person that was accidentally locked out after curfew.

"You didn't think I could get into Henrick's office on my own, did you? Three of his guards are ready to turn against him if it means ending this nightmare." 

Safi would have maybe found it reasonable if she knew what "this nightmare" referred to. She told her uncle as much, but he waved her off once again.

"You'll find out soon enough." It wasn't encouraging.

"I could just read the letters and find out right away," Safi said, trying to act like she was on top of the situation. It couldn't have been farther from the truth.

"We don't have the time," Eron went back to looking through the papers on his desk. He handed her what seemed to be a map of sorts.

"You're going to look for that friend of yours as soon as you get out of here, aren't you?". It wasn't a question. "All the other settlements - not the ones owned by Henrick - are circled on the map. You'll have time to check at least the ones in Cartorra."

What was it about time? If Henrick had several copies and wouldn't notice, why was everything about time? 

But Safi couldn't question it, in case he changed his mind. She hadn't seen her best friend in four long years. That was the longest they've been apart ever since they met. It was one of the worst things that ever happened to Safi. Without Iseult, she wasn't herself. Not fully.

But that didn't matter anymore. They'd see each other again. Soon. Safi promised herself that.

But before that, well, there was much more to Eron's plan than just that.

"Look, he might not care if I disappear, but his own guards? He's going to notice that," Safi said. She wasn't afraid of Henrick, and she would not hesitate to try deliver the letters alone, but dragging other people into it, people whose families' safety depended on them being (or at least appearing) loyal to Henrick, was where she drew the line. Where everyone sane would draw the line.

Eron acted like it was no big deal. Like people casually risked their lives over things like this. "He thinks they're leading you to one of the out posts in Dalmotti, and I told him you'll be leaving after lunch."

Of course he did. "Why not tell me before?".

"So you'd have less time to argue. Now, you don't have anything to pack, do you?," he didn't let her answer, "good. Take one bag if you must, and put the letters in it. Your companions are waiting in front of the building. They'll answer every question you have."

Safi doubted that. After all, her biggest question was why her uncle couldn't just behave like a normal person, and no one could answer that. It was one of those things that just was.

Nevertheless, she took the one and only bag she brought when they came there, putting in the letters and all the personal things she brought, which wasn't a lot. At first, Safi thought it was only going to last a few months. And then it didn't. 

Eron never even discussed it with her. He barely even talked to her. In fact, he told her more words in those ten minutes then in the whole four years they spent trapped together in five small rooms.

But he was family, and that meant he could be trusted, so Safi made her way downstairs and out of the building, for the first time in four years.

Well, not exactly. She was allowed outside, in the forest around the building, but not through the gate. That cursed gate that she hadn't been through in years.

Her approaching freedom was equal parts terrifying and exciting.

It was surprisingly easy to exit the building for the final time. Nobody asked anything, nobody even stopped to greet her. And once she was out of that gate, she'd be free. 

Free to find her best friend. Free to go wherever she wanted. Well, not yet. But after she delivered the apparently incriminating letters, surely she wouldn't have to return. Surely it'd solve whatever was happening that made hiding necessary. 

But the more she thought about it, the less she believed it. There were several buildings just like the one she was trapped in, as far as she knew. And there were of course the other settlements. 

And the fact that Henrick's guards were armed. Whatever was out there was dangerous, she knew as much, but it seemed a bit extreme. At least Safi hoped it was extreme, but something told her that it was just the right amount of protection.

The suits they were wearing bordered on actual armour. She couldn't see their faces under the helmets they were obligated to wear. Usually, that wasn't a bad thing. She wouldn't have to awkwardly catch their eyes in hallways like she did with other people. 

But this time, it was unsettling. Were the helmets not just Henrick being paranoid? 

Eron said they could answer all her questions, but Safi didn't even know where to begin. Or how to begin. She didn't know these people. They were just supposed to escort her to Dalmotti. 

But even more than that. They were risking so much to do so. Safi knew that nobody volunteered to join the forces protecting Henrick's "safe spaces". No, it was a way to pay for those who wanted to keep their families well and alive and were willing to risk their own lives for it.

Safi found it outrageous from day one. Henrick was profiting off a catastrophe. Even if she didn't know what exactly the catastrophe was, Safi knew that it was bad enough to make Henrick an awful person for doing what he did.

She wanted to ask her companions about it. To ask them what was happening that broke the world so much that it was unrecognisable when she saw pictures on the TV. But she knew nothing, and she didn't even know all there was to ask about.

No news channels reported about the disaster. Or maybe those channels were just not permitted in the building. Safi wouldn't have thought Henrick too good for it. 

She had so many questions, but she just walked in silence next to the three people that were risking everything to help save the world. Well, maybe "save the world" was a bit dramatic. But it didn't seem as unrealistic as it should have, and that was unsettling. Much more than just unsettling, actually.

They didn't communicate much. One of them nodded at her, as if to say that it was time to go. Safi started walking, hoping she understood what they meant to communicate. It looked like she did, because the three started walking beside her. Their footsteps were eerily quiet, and even though Safi knew they were probably trained for that, it didn't make her feel any better.

Once they reached the gate, Safi didn't wait for her companions. She had to know what was going on, even if she had to feel the disaster on her own body to learn about it.

Safi ran out, as if somebody might have locked her in, might have pulled her back in if she waited even a second more. 

"You might want to slow down, miss." Safi didn't know which one of the guards said it. They all had helmets that were probably for protection, but were just awfully impractical instead.

"Right, excuse me for wanting to be free," Safi said. It earned her a bitter laugh. Not being able to see who it was coming from really bothered her. 

"Free? You were always free. Nobody would have stopped you if you were to walk right through the gate yourself." Safi was almost sure it was the one left to her speaking.

At first the words bothered her just because they were true. And then, they bothered her even more when she remembered that the three guards were likely indebted to Henrick. They couldn't come and go as they pleased, and she could. 

And yet Safi was complaining about it, not them. Did all the years in the building make her like that? "Right," she muttered. As ashamed as she was, she didn't like to show it, but it seemed like she failed judging by the tone of her voice.

"So we're looking for someone, right? Which settlement are we checking first?," the first guard asked, taking of her helmet as soon as they were out of sight for everyone in the enclosure. Safi wasn't sure they were supposed to do that, but she was still thankful to the woman for the change of subject.

"The nearest one?". It was hardly helpful, and she knew it, but she didn't exactly have the time to study the map. 

The third guard, the biggest one, was the next to speak. "Good idea. It's nice to finally walk around a bit, isn't it?". Safi wasn't sure whether it was a genuine attempt at making conversation or if it was meant in a mocking way. Either way, she was glad not to walk in silence. 

"I guess. And if whatever it is that we were hiding from comes, it'll be nice to run around a bit," Safi said, trying to ease the tension of her own making.

The first guard laughed, but she seemed to have other plans. "If I see another one of those things, be sure I'm not running before it is unable to follow me."

Safi didn't have much information to go off yet, but the fact that whatever it was that changed everything was a thing - no, multiple things - and that it could follow them if it wasn't killed. 

"Yes, because the last time we did that went so great," the third guard said. It did nothing to ease Safi's worry, but she was curious.

"What happened last time?".

"We overestimated our own strength and took on too many of those things at once. That was before we knew anything about them, so we didn't even have the appropriate weapons. It's a miracle that we even survived," the one who snapped at her said. Safi didn't like how they kept calling them 'those things'.

But apparently the whole world got over the catastrophe before she even learned about it. Or at least they were close enough to getting over it to make jokes. "If by miracle you mean that absolutely unnecessary rock-throwing, I swear-"

"It saved our lives!," the snappy one retorted.

"You threw more rocks at us than at them! It might have been a great idea if not for your poor aim." 

They kept bickering about it, the third guard occasionally adding in his own two cents before eventually fully joining the argument. Safi found that it was way more enjoyable than silence. 

And she did learn a thing or two about "the things".

Mainly concerning things, like that they all worked as one and were stronger and faster than the average human. Safi didn't ask if they were human. She could guess the answer, and she didn't like it in the slightest.

But they weren't indestructible. Sure, they were harder to kill, but there were ways. Rocks apparently worked just fine if you had good aim, which didn't seem to be the case for the bitter guard. 

That was probably why they kept to the forest, and why every little sound resulted in the bickering getting quieter and then louder again when somebody felt like they needed to prove a point.

Safi took her chance to ask about the letters when they stopped talking for a moment because a branch snapped somewhere close. "Why is it so important that we get the letters to Mathew? What's in them?".

Her companions looked at each other, as if they were waiting to see who would answer the question first. Finally, the snappy one looked at her and started talking, but it wasn't long before he was interrupted. "The letters imply that-"

"Yes, like the fact that I'm breathing implies I'm alive. They explicitly say that Henrick is working with the creator of those hideous beings. One of them gets to be rich, the other gets...satisfaction from killing people, I guess. It's not a bad idea, actually." The other two still had their helmets on (which Safi guessed was for the best, even if she didn't have one herself), but as if she noticed them glaring at her, the woman added: "just completely immoral".

Safi was only half listening after that. She had barely processed what happened in the building, but the fact that she was now free was still fresh in her head. Free and on her way to find Iseult. Free and carrying evidence of Henrick's betrayal. Free and on her way to oppose the richest man on the continent.

It wasn't how she would have liked to be free, but she saw no other choice. Even freedom had its price in a broken world.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iseult doesn't feel like anything's changed, with her mother insisting that they should still act normal.
> 
> But one walk in the woods can change a lot.

It was Iseult's turn to get water, and she was on her third time going back from the well. 

It wasn't too far away from the settlement, but Gretchya insisted that they only go once a week, so Iseult had to carry as much water as possible as many times as possible. She didn't usually get the water duty, simply because Alma was a saint and insisted on doing the harder jobs.

Iseult never saw someone so eager to do everything themself before. Logically, she knew Alma probably just wanted to thank them for not leaving her to certain death, but it still seemed like she had some ulterior motives. Iseult usually refrained from thinking such things about Alma. She really did lose everything (and everyone) to the "recent developments", as Gretchya called them. 

Iseult still wasn't sure what exactly happened to her family. She found it pretty insensetive to ask if they left her behind or if something had happened to them. And as much as Iseult didn't like Alma, that wasn't a line she would allow herself to cross.

What was interesting, however, was that Gretchya never showed much of a moral compass until then. She had no qualms about being "the world's third worst mother" according to Safi. Iseult was always afraid to ask who the first two were.

Oh, how she missed Safi. She'd tell her it was okay to think bad things about someone from time to time, even if the person did nothing wrong in their entire life. 

Iseult wouldn't go as far as to wish they'd never let Alma travel to the settlement with them, even though she was bothered by how close Alma quickly became to her mother. But she wasn't Safi, and she couldn't say anything about it. Just suffer in silence.

Alma attempted to become closer to her, too. And she succeeded, in a way. That was to be expected, after spending four years together. But there was still so much that Alma didn't know, and Iseult liked to keep it that way.

She actually quite liked the walks to and from the well, if she ignored the aching in her arms from carrying too many buckets all at once, and the blisters that would soon follow. On those, no matter how short walks, she was finally alone, free of judgement and not pressured to socialise.

It gave her space to think, to look around and observe. It was something Iseult always did.

Asking questions bluntly was Safi's thing. Not only did Iseult dislike doing that, she was mostly socially incapable. So she learned everything she could about things just from looking. And that's how she knew to be quieter that day.

She ignored the footprints the first two times she came to get water. Her hands already hurt so much at that point, and she thought she deserved to indulge in daydreaming for a bit. 

The footprints were in the grass leading to the well, from the direction opposite of the path everyone in the settlement used. 

Iseult liked to think it was just new people coming to the settlement, but there was always another, far more dangerous possibility. Yet, as dangerous as it was, it didn't scare Iseult. In fact, she almost wanted to finally have her own story about dealing with the beasts that were not just ordinary beasts at all. 

She had yet to encounter on of the things. That was good. That meant she was hiding well. But Iseult didn't want to hide.

It might have been Safi's influence. It probably was. All Iseult knew was that she wanted to join the resistance from day one. 

Gretchya was, of course, having none of that. She didn't acknowledge that they were living the plot of one of those sci-fi movies she always scoffed at when they were on the TV. Even as they hid, she tried to pretend it was normal, and she expected Iseult to do the same.

Gretchya could bury her real feelings and reactions as she pleased. Iseult could not. She was just a natural anti-talent at it. Her emotions were always written on her face, no matter how much she tried to keep a neutral expression. 

Alma could keep a neutral experession. It was a defeat like no other Iseult experienced. It was like Alma just wasn't capable of doing anything Gretchya (or Iseult, as much as she tried to hate her) considered wrong.

She made the mistake of mentioning the resistance once, though. It brought Iseult great pleasure that she felt quilty about for days afterwards. Just the look on Gretchya's face in that moment was enough to make Iseult happy.

For approximately ten seconds, she was better than Alma, if only in that one way.

Iseult knew it wasn't fair, and that it was extremely immature, but she really couldn't help it. She didn't get her moment - or, well, ten seconds - of triumph often, and she cherished it greatly the times she did.

Despite not mentioning it, Iseult thought about the resistance often. Safi would have joined in a second. She probably did, in fact. Iseult wouldn't put it past her.

Still, as foolish as it was, a part of her hoped that Safi would have come for her. They were supposed to be best friends, after all, and best friends wouldn't leave each other with judgemental mothers and whatever Alma was to her. She certainly wasn't a friend, but she was a part of Iseult's life now, whether she liked it or not (and she did not, or at least she tried not to).

Safi would have taken one look at the beaten grass and decided to wait for whoever it was that broke it in to come back. Well, maybe she wouldn't notice it at first. It was Safi, after all. In Iseult's imagination, however, she would never be alone. After Iseult pointed it out, she'd surely be ready to investigate the whole forest, forgetting the water completely. 

But Iseult wasn't Safi, and Safi wasn't there, so all she could do was try to be quieter on her walk back. 

The settlement never seemed so far away before. Iseult told herself she wasn't afraid, but she was never a practicularly talented liar, and she imagined fooling herself would have been much, much harder than telling believeable half-truths to others.

And then she heard a noise somewhere. It wasn't anything new - the forest was full of all sorts of animals. But something about that noise, paired with the fact that somebody else was near the well recently and could still be there unnerved her greatly. 

And what made it even more terrifying was that it could have been a something instead of someone. Iseult still knew next to nothing about the things they were hiding from, but it was common knowledge that they were certainly strong enough to make sure she didn't walk out of the forest.

Remembering all that she heard from hushed conversation around the settlement didn't reassure her at all. There were stories from the rare few people who had barely escaped the twisted beings. Iseult had so many questions for them that she would never get to ask.

Gretchya was never the most generous neighbour, even when life was still normal, but she had forbidden both Alma and Iseult to try to ask the other people in the settlement for news in every way except with words. 

Not that it was necessary. Most people were there as long as them, some even longer. Newcomers were rare, and even then they mostly kept to themselves. 

No one she talked with knew what those things were, exactly, but they weren't human. At least not anymore. They were supposedly faster and stronger than humanly possible. At least that's what everyone said.

If those things were in the forest, so near the settlement, that meant that if they didn't already find it, they would soon. But the noise Iseult heard - that she was now almost positve was a branch breaking off under someone - was near. That meant she still had time to drive whatever it was away. After all, it was her or about a hundred people hiding in the settlement successfully for the past four years, some of whom had already lost loved ones. The decision wasn't at all hard to make. And she would be done for either way. The least she could do was make sure to be the only victim that day.

That was, if whatever it was that cracked the branch noticed her. So Iseult had to make sure the thing paid attention her, and she had to do so quick.

It was the harder part, which said a lot considering how hard leading the supposed beast somewhere else would be. She didn't know anything about the forest. The path they used had a few crossroads, but Iseult never dared see where they lead. Only then did she see how stupid it was. Knowing her surroundings would have been a helpful adventage, but one she would have to make do without. 

First, though, she had to get the attention of every being near. From birds to...other things. One look at the buckets in her hands was enough.

_I'm sorry, mum,_ she thought. It was a complete lie.

Iseult dropped the buckets. What followed was a loud string of curses that would have traumatised even Safi. Another quick crack somewhere on her left, probably from a startled movement.

She caugh something's attention. Somehow that made her proud, even if she was walking into certain death. Well, not a hundred percent certain, but more certain than death would've been four years ago. It wasn't as unsettling as it should have been.

She made sure to bang the buckets against each other as much as she could while picking them up. Every step of her foot was strategically placed on top of as many branches and leaves she could break under her foot as she dragged herself back to the well. 

Iseult took as much time as she could filling the buckets up again. This time she didn't have to force the swear words out of her mouth. The moment her hands were under the cold water, they started stinging. Oh, of course she cut herself. Life wasn't going to make anything easy for her, even a potential sacrafice for the greater good. How unsurprising. 

Maybe Safi wasn't right after people being unfair, after all. Iseult was usually the only one to see the sense in things her best friend said, but this one time she was on her mother's side instead. Life really was unfair.

Nevertheless, Iseult filled up the buckets, groaning a bit louder than necessary. The walk to the crossroad wasn't too long, and there was the occasional snap that made Iseult believe that her plan was working.

Now all she needed to do was pick a direction there where the path was divided into three. It really didn't matter that she didn't know where they led. She wouldn't make it far down whichever road she picked. 

The one on the right seemed the farthest from the settlement. That was her goal, right? To drive whatever was following her away from the all those innocent people.

Iseult took a deep breath before taking her first step down the unfamiliar path. It didn't help. 

For a while, she didn't hear anything else. Just when she thought it could've simply been a bigger animal, another sound. It wasn't the same crack of a branch as the two before it. No, it sounded more like footsteps. And they weren't as far away as Iseult would have liked.

The footsteps stopped soon, as if the person they belonged to caught themselves making the sound. Or maybe Iseult was just imagining things. Still, it was better not to risk going back to the settlement. Not when there was so many people there. People who deserved to live.

And maybe people who would eventually come searching for her. That didn't mean they would necessarily find the body, or whatever those things left behind, but Iseult liked imagining that they would try to, at least. 

But she knew what would really happen. Gretchya would assume she ran away, and if anybody else noticed they wouldn't say anything. What was ironic that Alma would probably be the most worried about her. 

But Iseult didn't regret doing what she was doing. If something was really following her, she might even manage to get away. That couldn't be said for a whole community of unsuspecting people. The thing could just go from one small makeshift cottage to the next. Iseult refused to let it happen.

And if it was just an animal - which wasn't very probable, because Iseult knew what sounds animals in forests make and that was not it - or a real person in need of help - much more realistic - , then...well, then she might be acting little foolish, but there'd be good sides to it. 

Iseult hoped it was a real person. If it was a real person, she could get information out of them that she couldn't get from anybody else, and Gretchya would never know.

But there was still a possibility that whatever was following her wasn't human. It _was_ following her, after all. Iseult could think of no animals that would have any reason to do that. 

It was getting darker and darker, but the thing still kept its distance. By then, Iseult was almost sure she misread the situation, but she kept going. She had to, in case she really was right.

And then there was a gate. She saw it through the trees. There was no house on the property as far as she could see, but she couldn't risk going in. She just couldn't. 

But she already led something to the gate, and she had no way of knowing if there were people inside. Just as she had no way of knowing what exactly it was that followed her.

Whatever her next course of action was, she had to think about it as if there were hundreds protected by the gate and more than just one murderous thing following her. 

It was a thing Gretchya taught her, maybe one that stuck with her the most. Always plan for the worst possible situation, because when you do, you're ready for everything.

Iseult couldn't see any possible outcome of this that she was ready for, but she had to try. She wouldn't be the one to sentence people to death, even if they were total strangers. Even if there wasn't anybody behind the gate, she had to act like there was.

So the only solution was to fight. To fight whatever was following her. To fight the urge to scream for help, hoping someone would hear. To fight the urge to run into the gate herself, looking for aid. 

But no. It would be selfish and dangerous, and not to mention incredibly stupid. 

Iseult carefully put the buckets down, this time making sure not to spill even a drop of water. If she got out of the encounter alive, she certainly wouldn't be goinf back to the well.

Iseult picked a sharper branch off the ground. She knew she wasn't ready to fight, but she had no other choice. At least she didn't see it.

Something moved quickly between the woods right to her. Another sound. This time it was followed by a pained noise that Iseult wanted to call human. She wasn't sure, though. Nobody knew what those things could do. Maybe it was a tactic to draw her in, make her think she would be helping one of her own kind.

But just in case it wasn't fake, and she wasn't delusional and imagining the whole situation, Iseult decided to speak. Even though she was afraid, even though her voice was shaking, even though she didn't want to know, she called out: "Who's there?".

No answer at first. Then a lot of noise as somebody got up from the ground. At least it looked like a somebody rather than a something, and that encouraged Iseult enough to step closer.

It wasn't dark enough to require a flashlight yet. Not like she had one either way, but it would have been easier to see the person from a distance. 

Iseult couldn't see their face. It took her a moment to realise it was because of the helmet they were wearing, and not just an unfortunate shadow falling over a face.

"What do you want?," she asked, this time bolder. Her voice almost cracked, but Iseult managed to sound normal. Certainly not as intimidating as she would have liked to, but she spoke bravely. Like someone who wouldn't go quietly. 

It was true.

The person removed their helmet. They made no move towards her until it was fully off and she could see their face. "Is this the settlement?".

Iseult breathed out a sigh of relief. Whatever those things were, surely they couldn't appear so human that it was impossible to tell the difference. With that hope in mind, Iseult lowered her branch.

"No. Maybe? Not as far as I know. I, um...I thought it was one of - you know what I thought it was." The confused look she got told her that the man had no idea what she meant. He didn't push it, though.

Instead, he kept talking. "That was brave of you, then. But no, I'm looking for someone, and she might be at the settlement."

Iseult knew that it was stupid, but she thought for a second it might be her. Even if she had no idea how this strange man could know about her, a small part of her hoped.

"Might be?," she asked before she could help herself. 

"It's complicated. One of the people I'm traveling with thinks she could help us." The man took one step closer to her, gesturing at the buckets. "I could carry those for you if you're willing to take me to the settlement."

It was a fair trade. And Iseult had no right not to show a person in need the way to the only safe space she'd known for the past four years. She nodded. In a second the tall man put his helmet back on, and picked up the buckets. "Lead the way."

The walk back was surprisingly shorter with company. She didn't ask why it was absolutely nnecessary to scare her by following her, and her temporary companion didn't bring it up either. The conversation was pleasant, if a little stiff, as it usually went between strangers.

And then, as it usually went, they exchanged named. The second Iseult said hers, she ccould feel by the short silence that something was wrong.

And then he said she was the one he was looking for. He said Safi sent him, and Iseult almost cried. She would see her best friend again.

After that, everything went much quicker. Every second before she saw Safi went almost too fast, like nothing until that moment mattered. 

They were back at the settlement before Iseult could blink. "Have you seen one of those things before?" she asked, almost subconsciously. It was none of her business, she knew, but the urge to ask was stronger than her. Oh, how Gretchya would shake her head at that.

Then the man, Zander as she learned, nodded. Iseult knew she had no right to ask any more about it, but it was still the slightest bit disappointing that he didn't give her all the details she yearned to know.

To her surprise, only Alma was at their small cottage. And to her even bigger surprise, she hugged Iseult when she saw her, which left her so shocked she forgot how to move. Iseult was thankful Zander volunteered to carry the buckets.

"Where were you? You've been gone for hours! Your mother went looking for you. Did you see her?".

Alma was talking fast, showing too much worry. She paid no attention to the newconer. Iseult found it strange, but decided not to say anything about it.

As soon as she let her go, Iseult started picking her things up from all over the small cottage. 

"Tell her I'm going to Dalmotti, then," Iseult said, enjoying the look of confusion on Alma's face. 

"Excuse me?".

"I'm going to Dalmotti, Alma." Iseult couldn't keep the grin off her face. "Make sure to tell Gretchya that I won't be back soon."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a looooot longer than the last one! I would have finished it who knows when if it wasn't for L.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merik has spent quite some time at the Old House on his family's estate.  
> But when the only well on the land ran out of water, the only choice is to go into the world he was hiding from for so long.

Merik agreed with his sister once every never, but he learned that she had a point when she said he was an idiot that one time. And that other time. And the time after that. And all the other times. 

Because, really, if he wasn't an idiot then what other explanation was there for not knowing a single other source of water? It was just a matter of time before the well ran out of water, and summers were scorching hot so close to the sea. The probability of rain anytime in the next few months was nonexistent. 

Which meant that the chances of Merik's survival were also nonexistent, at least as long as he was still in his family's estate. There were settlements all around the continent, and there was always the option of joining the resistance. Aunt Evrane would have been delighted to know he was even considering it.

She came around every two months to bring him supplies, and to try to convince him to come with her. It was almost like a routine at this point, but Merik never gave in. It had killed Kullen, after all. Or rather, those things did, but it was his own choice to go against them.

The estate was enormous. Those creatures came a few times, doing sweeps of the whole property. Merik always managed to hide. As superhuman as Aunt Evrane claimed they were, they weren't very intelligent. 

It was almost too easy to hide from them. At first Merik worried that it was their strategy, that they were doing it to lull him into a fake sense of safety.

But after four years, it didn't seem likely. It was comforting less than a day ago, but Merik would have much rather been killed as so many have before him than be in this situation. 

Dying of thirst was definitely not his ideal way to die. It wasn't even in the top ten. 

But there was nothing he could do. Aunt Evrane said that the monsters worked as one. As if there was a hivemind of sorts. That helped them take over as quickly as they did.

It was enough for one of them to spot him for the whole region to look for him. They let people live, but any minor disobedience or uprising resulted in death. Most people were killed sooner or later, regardless of if they were on the run or not.

People who grew food or managed TV channels and news were left to live under constant supervision of the hivemind. 

Aunt Evrane assured him that it wasn't as terrifying as it seemed, but Merik wasn't so sure. He knew his aunt was trying to get as many people as possible to safety, and that telling her how much it bothered him and why would be ridiculous, even offensive. But something about innocent people being tricked like that made the entire situation worse.

Merik knew the world wasn't fair, but he always wondered why. He still didn't have an answer.

Merik had no access to either newspapers or TV. Paying for either would have given him away, after all, and he didn't want to do that. Not like the Old House was used anytime in the last century as anything more than a weekend home. Besides, the current media was nowhere near a trustworthy source. The news Aunt Evrane brought with her were the only thing Merik was sure of.

Or at least the only thing before he found that the well was empty. Now he was sure that he was going to die of thirst. Alone. While there were monsters plaguing the world. 

He could imagine Aunt Evrane coming back in two months - the last time he saw her was two weeks ago - to find his dead body rotting on the very stone he was sitting on.

The Old House was, well, old, too old to have water reservoirs. And before the world broke, nobody had been at the house for decades. 

Merik could see why. Aunt Evrane wanted nothing to do with her family, especially her brother, for as long as Merik could remember her. She was only half-civil with Merik's father because "she couldn't let him ruin a kid". 

To this day Merik didn't know if she said it like that because it sounded better or because she thought one of them was a lost cause. Merik kept his money (that he didn't have) on Vivia.

He didn't think he was wrong. 

He wasn't even sure Vivia knew the estate existed, and if she did, she certainly didn't care. Merik himself wouldn't have known about it if it didn't take up a good three and a half pages of one of Evrane's photo albums.

She had many of those. Almost too many for someone who wanted to distance themself from their family as much as possible. Merik never commented on it in fear she'd get mad. It was the main reason he spent so much time with her as a child. She yelled a lot less than anyone else in their family. That wasn't very hard to achieve, but it was definitely not just a one person thing.

Merik caught himself getting frustrated for no real reason at times. He kicked the bathroom door the first time he came to the estate, just because it wouldn't open right away. It was very fortunate that no one lived there with him, or else going to the bathroom would be very awkward. It still was, knowing that he had no keys and that anybody could just walk in. 

Well, maybe not. After four years of that not happening, Merik was only a little bit paranoid.

He still didn't understand why there were no keys. When he found the estate unlocked, he hoped that someone was there. Anyone. Not even necessarily family, just people looking for shelter. 

Aunt Evrane had been his only company for almost half a decade. And even she came once every two months. She didn't even stay the night. 

At first Merik wondered if it was to prove a point, to show how easier life would be if he came to help her with "her project". She never gave him any details, but Merik had the rough idea of it. 

Helping people reach safe spaces. Occasionally finding lost friends and relatives. Merik admired it, but that wasn't something he could see himself doing. Neither was joining the resistance, or even looking for (the rest of) his family.

They didn't look for him, after all. Well, nobody except Aunt Evrane did. 

Merik still remembered the day she found him. He woke up to shouting. At first he didn't even recognise her voice, or the words she was saying. 

The only weapon he found was an old oil lamp, though, and his aunt definitely dealt with far worse. She had scars even then, though less than she did now. Dealing with those beasts was no easy job, but she did it to protect what was left of humanity. She did it because she believed that the world could be a better place once again.

Merik wasn't so sure about that. He would've liked to believe it, and he had for a time. Aunt Evrane basically raised him, and Merik thought highly of her. Any cause she was fighting for was sure to win.

But after a year, Merik wasn't so optimistic. And now, after four and a half, he was ready to burn all the hopes and dreams Aunt Evrane talked about in the big fireplace downstairs. 

The only thing that could make it worse was dying, and he already had that down. The least he could do was spend his last days enjoying what he had - safety. 

But just a walk through the house, looking at all the pictures of his ancestors who were smiling and happy and not in danger every day of their lives made him sick. 

At first the portraits scared him. They always seemed to be watching. Merik wasn't superstitious - well, he liked to believe he wasn't, at least - but having eyes on him at all times, even painted, made him uneasy.

Those _were_ real people once upon a time, after all. All of them. 

Merik could hardly name more than five of them the first time he came there, and even five was being farfetched. It felt wrong not to know those people. They might have been his blood, but he didn't even know their names.

It made him feel like an intruder, which was ridiculous, if not completely insane. But as he started finding more and more documents and diaries belonging to various people over the years, Merik felt closer to them. Like he belonged. Another person would have probably thought of him as insane.

Merik's definition of insane was blurred at the lines for quite some time, though.

One of the things that unnerved him at first were the windows. The huge windows on the first floor that had no way of closing. They were higher up than regular windows, but Merik still wondered who broke the glass, and if the person was still around.

He could find no curtains either, which seemed odd. All the windows on the second floor were perfectly normal. 

There were broken mirrors too, but no glass shards. Merik heard of covering mirrors after a death in the house, and it seemed like something somebody related to Aunt Evrane would do. But breaking them was weird, and unsettling. 

The house was in no way haunted, but there were some things that Merik couldn't explain, and he didn't like that. He didn't like it at all.

Merik thought about going away - not with Aunt Evrane - and just leaving the estate behind many times. If he was actually to do it, this was quite literally his last chance.

The creepy, weird Old House never felt more like a home then when he had no choice but to leave. It offered protection, after all. Protection he wasn't ready to give up, but had to if he wanted to live. 

The decision was perhaps a bit harder than it should have been. Merik was overwhelmed, and he had no one to talk to. It had been that way for a while now, but never so drastic.

He could usually sit dilemmas like this out, because they usually had no real consequences. This one did. 

Either decision _could_ kill him, but only one would for sure. It was obvious, but Merik didn't want to go through another first year at a new safe space. He didn't want to feel unsafe again. 

But it was either fearing death or death, and the choice was clear from the start. It wasn't easy, but it was clear what he had to do. 

And yet, two hours after his decision, Merik still couldn't find it in himself to move. Literally. He'd been sitting on the floor of the upstairs hallway looking at the portraits for way too long. It was time to move.

Getting to the enormous kitchen was enough work. Packing up some of the food he had felt strange. It felt like admiting defeat, even though it was just surviving. 

Merik didn't have much clothes, but he brought all of them. There was an old suitcase on top of a warderobe in one of the rooms. In fact, there were many things still in the house. If not for how old it obviously was, Merik would have expected his great-grand-somethings to walk in any second. 

What a wonderful family reunion it would be. Maybe they could go out in this new, dangerous world together-

Or maybe Merik should get out of the estate before the thirst started messing with his head even more. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before he saw the ghost of his father's Great Aunt. Merik found her diary in his first week. A progressive woman, especially for her times.

No, it was enough of thinking about dead people, and time to think about not dying. 

With that thought in mind, Merik got moving. He really didn't have all that much to bring with him. The old suitcase was only half full. Still better than nothing.

There was no goodbye, because Merik wasn't insane enough to talk to the Old House and its weird windows and creepy mirros. Not yet. Maybe it was good that he got out of there before that happened.

There wasn't anybody to follow him to the gate, to tell him to come back soon. It shouldn't have been surprising. It shouldn't have been upsetting. Not after all the years of loneliness. But it was, and Merik didn't want to admit how much it affected him.

Not that there was anybody to admit anything to. He'd be lucky if he came across a settlement, or any other human being. 

But as soon as he was out of the gate, Merik couldn't find it in himself to go any further. He didn't know where to go, after all. The world had changed a lot in the past four years, and he wasn't there to witness it. 

Taking the path that led back to the city could be a disaster, but it was the only path in the forest outside the gate. 

And even if there was another, Merik knew he wouldn't have taken it right away. He still needed a moment to think about everything. 

Merik sat on the grass. It seemed childish, in a way, but he got used to sitting on spaces that weren't made for it. The Old House was, true to its name, old, and not all of the chairs were still capable of having someone sit on them.

Luckily, the beds (or at least the bed he slept on) were made of good wood. None of that mattered now, though.

Merik couldn't go back, and he couldn't go forward either. He was stuck, not knowing what would become of him if he didn't move.

He didn't hear the person approaching him until it was too late. Merik turned to where he left his suitcase, meaning to eat one last meal on the property (or outside it, actually) when he saw someone dragging the old thing into the forest.

Merik didn't expect to see another human so soon. He didn't expect them to steal from him, either.

He tried to tell himself that it wasn't personal, that people were starving all over the world. It _felt_ personal, though. Very personal.

The thief looked at him. Merik thought they wouldn't stop for a moment. He was still shocked that they did. 

Merik certainly wasn't intimidating, and by the time he turned around the (potential) thief was already far enough for Merik to have to chase them. And assuming they knew the forest, it would be a pointless chase.

Before Merik could speak up or react in any way other than just looking in the general direction of the suitcase thief, they brought it back to him.

It was no quick walk - Merik wondered how he needed that much time to even notice - so just looking at this stranger, the first one he'd seen in years was awkward. 

"You look lost." 

Merik knew he was, but he didn't know he looked like it. How does one even look lost? 

"Are you going to pretend you didn't try to steal from me?," he asked, dodging the question. People who were ready to steal were ready to ask for outrageous favours if owed one.

Now that they were standing face to face, Merik realised he was talking to a kid. Teenager, maybe, but still a kid.

"Yes," the potential thief said, sitting next to Merik, "you _are_ lost, aren't you? A word of friendly advice-".

"We're not friends," Merik argued.

"Like I said, a word of _friendly_ advice, don't walk into places you don't know how to get out of." Merik decided then and there that he should've died of thirst back at the old house. He forgot how exhausting people could be. How exhausting they were most of the time.

"And you know how to get out of here?"

"No." Well that was just perfect. Merik didn't like the possibility of people other than Aunt Evrane even knowing about the forest. But being lost in it was even worse than knowing people could have just randomly walked in anytime.

Merik couldn't help but feel bad about that. Sure, he was in the same boat, but he wasn't weirdly quiet, younger than expected almost thief. He didn't have to deal with those creatures a single day in his life. This kid probably did. 

And that was probably why he got up a second later, sounding too confident for the stupid idea he announced. "This isn't too far from the path we usually use. If we just go west, we could probably get to the city in time."

Merik didn't ask who the first "we" was, nor did he ask what the deadline was and for what it was. 

"There might be a compass in the Old House," Merik said. It was the closest he could do to agreeing with the idea.

"Go get it, then." Merik raised his eyebrow. "I'm not about to go into a house with a total stranger. You could be a murderer. Or a thief."

"Like you?," Merik asked. He didn't want to sound like he was accusing the boy of something, but it was obvious that it wasn't his first time stealing. Though judging by how quiet he was, it might have been his first time getting caught. 

"Like me," the boy grinned.

Merik rolled his eyes. Usually he would say that stealing was bad, but he doubted that it mattered to his new companion. He doubted that it mattered to anyone anymore, considering the state of the world.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With no assignments in the past week, Aeduan can't shake the feeling that something is wrong.
> 
> It turns out to be very accurate.

Evrane had called those things The Cleaved.

After four days, Aeduan was starting to wonder if she became one of them. No, that would be impossible. It was Evrane, after all, and she was practically immortal as far as Aeduan was concerned. She got out of so many certain death situations with just a few bruises, and that was just how it always was. Anything else would make no sense.

Still, it wasn't like her to leave him alone for almost whole week. Aeduan was almost worried.

Not worried enough to check up on her, not yet, but he did find it concerning, not hearing from her for days.

He promised himself he'd look for her if a full week went by without her calling in a single meeting.

Sure, even four days was a record, but it could be nothing. Aeduan couldn't find it in himself to ask Lizl if she'd heard from her, despite being worried.

Because, if she knew, then she'd tell Aeduan in such a condescending way he'd wish she had just ripped his ears off instead.

And if she didn't, she would criticise him for not telling her sooner if he was so incapable of looking for Evrane.

Lizl and him had their disagreements - more than just a few - but neither of them were the type of people to hide, or even worse, run away from danger. Evrane had given them an opportunity to do the opposite without being reckless, and they were both incredibly thankful to her.

If he had to have something in common with Lizl, Aeduan was glad it was a good thing. 

Not that it was the only thing they had in common. It drove Aeduan insane how similar they could be at times. Maybe that was why Evrane thought they'd get along well.

Maybe that's why they didn't. They were too much alike, and too prideful to admit it out loud. Or at least that was what Evrane said, and Aeduan trusted her more than anyone else.

He trusted Lizl, too, even if she annoyed him as much as she did. There was no space for anything else than trust in their job.

There wasn't space for competition, either, but Aeduan and Lizl couldn't just give up on their rivalry. Safety _was_ important to both of them, but as they got more and more experienced, racing to their destinations wasn't uncommon.

Evrane didn't know, because it was Evrane. She would probably make them play board games with her to "fix their friendship", regardless of the fact that that "friendship" was nonexistent. She'd then say something about how being competitive only makes sense in that context, in true Evrane fashion. Aeduan thought highly of her, but it was one of those things he didn't get. Why did she even care? They got the job done. They got the people to safety. It was enough from them. They didn't have to be best friends just to work together.

Lizl had stronger opinions about the awkward game nights, ones that she didn't hesitate to share with Evrane. She kept it to herself the first time, but after that, she insisted that her fight or flight response activated after seeing anything that was even remotely associated with board games.

It happened twice, the forced hanging out, which wasn't a lot, but it was two times too much.

When the fifth day passed with no messages from Evrane, Aeduan would have accepted even another game night. 

Asking Lizl was still not an option. It hasn't been too long yet. And Aeduan didn't even know where she was. Just looking for her would take a lot of time.

Evrane had gotten them all registred. It wasn't easy, and definitely not a short process. But she did it, which made Aeduan even more convinced that she was capable of everything. 

Their job was difficult even when they weren't hiding. After getting registred, they were constantly watched for months. The rules were ridiculous. There was a curfew, an outrageous one at that. Not like they respected it after the first month. 

The Cleaved were a hivemind, one that could do wonders in leading and supervision if they wanted to. But they left guarding to the humans, and that was their key mistake. 

It just made it easier for people to get in. No person wished others death, not at the hand of those things, at least. And when they did, it was deeply personal. Aeduan prided himself on not being personal with anybody.

They had to give something back to the undead authorities, too, but that was the least of their problems. Growing some food once in a while was nothing, even if Lizl complained about it like they asked her to kill her own family.

That was nothing new, though. Aeduan got used to it a while ago.

He wasn't talented in gardening, or even growing a simple plant. He could kill a rock if it was left in his care for long enough.

Lizl knew that, and she made sure he would never forget. The most defeating thing was that she was the closest he had to a friend. 

Aeduan liked to think he got better about it over the four years he spent doing it. The truth was, he got better at sneaking around Evrane's own little farm to steal some of what she grew. 

She still caught him every time, but he was getting better at it. 

The people who were supposed to collect the products were also, well, people. They excused the lack of food everytime, which was a lot of times in Aeduan's case. Lizl didn't need to know that, because she was Lizl and she was probably going to become a master gardener just to be better than him. They had no time for that.

Aeduan certainly had things to do, but he was still worried about Evrane. It was unreasonable - if any person in the world could take care of themselves, Evrane could. Aeduan knew that, and he respected it. 

But she was as close to family as he had, and the thought of her being in trouble just felt wrong. Even if she could get out of it herself. Even if it was minor. Aeduan still wanted to help.

Six days passed, and it was too much. Still no trace from Evrane, not even a single message. Aeduan decided it was time to ask Lizl. Evrane's safety was worth more than being in the lead of whatever competition they were in this week.

He hoped Lizl thought so too.

Not many people were registred. The settlements were a far better bet, and joining the Resistance definitiely paid off more in the long run.

Aeduan wondered if what he was doing could be considered tied to the Resistance. Evrane didn't like talking about it. It was one of the topics she avoided, like where she went every month for three days, and anything that had to do with her family. 

Still, Aeduan had brought people to meet the Resistance's ships countless times. They offered shelter, and a choice. You could fight or you could just stay there knowing you're safe. Aeduan considered that more than fair, especially in this state of the world.

That probably wasn't the problem Evrane had with it. It seemed much more personal than just their beliefs clashing, even though Evrane was ready to battle for what she believed in. Aeduan knew firsthand that she was serious about it, and he didn't dare question even the things he disagreed with. Not even Lizl was reckless enough to do that. Not more than once, anyway.

As much as Aeduan knew, Evrane didn't work for anyone. She believed that people should help each other, especially when the world was like it was. 

So she helped. Evrane made sure everyone who wanted (because she had gained quite a reputation over the years) could get to a safe space of their choice. 

She helped people find their families and just loved ones in general, though that was a less common request. Most people came in groups, and Evrane never separated them, even when it would be safer. Even when it made more sense.

If it was a bigger group, she'd send multiple people from her evergrowing network. Aeduan got stuck with Lizl and over five strangers more time than he could count, and it was officially his last favourite way to spend time. 

They came and went quite often, which apparently wasn't against the (very strict) set of rules that the Cleaved hivemind put together. As long as people were registered and stuck to their obligations, they could travel. 

The rules were insanely thorough, but the Cleaved weren't the ones enforcing them, and the poor souls that were mostly threatened into making sure everyone was following them let more than a few things slip. 

The people who got caught were either the least lucky people in the universe, or just plain stupid. Aeduan was glad to announce he was neither.

That went for Lizl too. She wasn't at all subtle with her "decorating". That, or she was just not very tidy. Aeduan could never decide.

There were weapons all around her living space, despite them not being allowed. The monthly patrols - Aeduan still couldn't get over how stupid it was to send people on those - didn't even enter most places, especially ones they associated with Evrane.

Most people owed their families' safety to her, even when it was too late for them. Having to work against your own species was a punishment that could rival death, and it was usually reserved for the people who fought back badly. Anyone who did any damage, but not enough to stay free, was executed. It wasn't public, but Aeduan heard it wasn't a pleasant sight.

Nothing kept the guards from running away once their families were free. That wasn't often the case, but Evrane insisted on dealing with those situations herself. And as strong as she was, she was still only one person.

Keeping families as hostages might have been the only actually clever thing that the Cleaved had done in the terms of ruling over people. That way their guards lived in fear, and while it wasn't morally right, and Aeduan hated himself for thinking it, it was still an impressively thought-out strategy.

There was nothing Evrane hated more than cruel things like that. She didn't believe in collateral damage. Aeduan admired that, but he couldn't say he shared her opinion. 

Sacrifices had to be made sometimes. Evrane knew that, but she denied it if the sacrifice wasn't her. Nobody knew what happened on her one-woman rescue missions, and Aeduan doubted they'd ever find out. She was mostly successful, which was the only thing that mattered. Or that was what she said, at least, and the least Aeduan could do was respect that.

Lizl didn't. She almost begged Evrane to join her. She got as close as she ever would to beong on her knees in front of someone. She had far too much dignity for that, of course, but if she wasn't so incredibly confident, and reckless and just...Lizl, she probably would have done it. 

Aeduan knew that one of them would follow Evrane sooner or later. He just always thought that it would be him.

But where else would have Lizl gone? Evrane didn't hand in assignments individually. It just wasn't how things worked. The curfew had long since passed by the time Aeduan got into Lizl's apartment. And yet she wasn't there.

Aeduan thought about leaving. It seemed like the obvioue choice. Being surrounded by Lizl's attacking furniture all night seemed like something straight out of a horror film. They already had the sci-fi elements down. Aeduan didn't need to add the torture chamber that was Lizl's living room to the list.

Not only did the lunatic have weapons visible on every visible surface, she often lost them too. Aeduan lost count of how many times he sat on a knife. That was before Evrane decided that shifting meeting places every night was unnecessary. It took her three scars too long to make that undoubtedly very hard decision.

Still, this was too weird to just leave be. So Aeduan risked his left hand, putting it on the couch before he sat down. Surprisingly, there were no misplaced daggers this time. 

In fact, he didn't notice any weapon out of place. There were some that Lizl displayed on purpose, of course, because a good knife was as worth as a painting to her. At least they agreed on something, though Aeduan showed his opinion by simply not over-decorating his already ugly, cramped apartment.

Lizl, on the other side, had paintings, and swords, and paintings of swords. Her collection was the kind of thing people in movies found in the basement. A clue that the house was haunted. Aeduan just took it as a clue that Lizl was closer to being an actual maniac than he thought. That was always good to know.

Lizl didn't show up until midnight, and by then Aeduan was as good as dead considering how tired he was. But seeing Lizl walk in, a bleeding Evrane right next to her and a woman he didn't know immediately cleared his head.

"I didn't know you were visiting," Lizl said sarcastically. She wasn't bleeding, but some parts of her clothes looked burnt. 

Aeduan immediately got up from the couch. "What happened?." It wasn't a simple question by any means, but Aeduan just had to know. It wasn't every day that Evrane would let someone see how she got her scars. She'd just show up the next day, no blood in sight. Just fresh bruises. Aeduan hated not knowing, but what he hated even more was the knowledge that he could do nothing to stop it. 

Because, as much as Aeduan liked to deny it, him and Lizl were equal in almost every way. And it Lizl couldn't help, then neither could Aeduan. It was a depressing thought, but one that he had no time to dwell on.

To Aeduan's surprise, it wasn't Evrane that answered his question. It wasn't Lizl either. They just sat down on the newly not-murderous furniture as their new companion, a dark-skinned woman Aeduan had never seen bedore, started speaking. She looked like the most shaken of the three despite there being no visible blood or burnt clothes on her. 

"They found us," she said, as if Aeduan was supposed to fill in both the 'they' and the 'us' on his own. He could guess who 'they' was, but he wasn't clear on the 'us' until she continued.

"We were so close to finishing, but it was all for nothing. They burnt the Convent to the ground, and all of our discoveries with it. And then they took everyone." The Convent. That meant that the woman was one of the scientists figuring out the whole situation. "I - I don't know if anybody else got out. I was supposed to meet with our Resistance contacts, but I forgot something, and by the time I returned, it was all on fire."

Aeduan was suddenly bothered by the fact that she was the only new face in the room. As far as he knew, the Convent used to be a prestigious school before the world broke.

The woman in front of him looked young - she couldn't have been anything more than a student. That didn't matter at the Convent, because anybody - any woman - who got accepted in the first place was a genius by default. But if the Convent was burnt, and all of the written work was gone, then it would have been slightly more encouraging to have someone experienced live.

Lizl picked up the story, seeing as the dark-skinned woman was too upset to move on. She wasn't crying, but she looked lost, standing in the middle of the room clutching too many binders in her hands. Aeduan knew the feeling of being that lost, even though he would never say it out loud. 

"She called Evrane immediately, and I thought it was another rescue mission, so I followed her to help." Lizl didn't sound regretful at all. It made Aeduan wonder what would have happened if he joined her. 

He didn't have time to think about it, as Lizl continued the story. "But Ryber didn't go back to the Convent the first time. She just saw it burning. There are under chambers rarely anyone knows of, or at least she says so. By the time we got there, they were overrun with Cleaved soldiers. So we had to fight, and...it wasn't easy." 

That was the first, and quite possibly the last time Aeduan had ever heard Lizl admit something was difficult. "We would have been out of there faster if it wasn't for the damn documents. They were about to light them on fire before we showed up."

As Lizl talked, Ryber clutched her fists around what was presumably the information they saved. Aeduan didn't get why the documents were so important, but he kept listening. It was the least he could do. 

"These are the last copies," Ryber explained, "they were put together as a last reserve. I think...I think that the older sisters knew that they were going to attack. They were wise women."

Aeduan didn't like hearing her speak in past tense about them, just like he didn't like speaking in past tense about his own mother. But she was dead, and so was everybody in the Convent. Or at least they would be soon. 

The Cleaved hated nothing more than those that belonged to the Resistance, and the Convent was directly connected to it. 

"And those copies are enough for you to continue the research?," Aeduan asked. 

Before Ryber could answer, Lizl looked at him as if he had just slapped her in the face. "Are you implying that she would he doing it alone? We're going to free the others." Aeduan didn't see how that was possible. They were probably kept in a place with high security, if they weren't burnt alive along with their lives' work. But Lizl was insistent.

"They won't kill them until they got all the information out of them, and you know how scholars are - carrying their secrets to the grave. It will take them at least a week to realise that they won't talk. A week is enough time for us to save them."

There was some truth in what she was saying, but Aeduan didn't have time to agree, because Evrane glared at Lizl. And that was new, because it was Evrane, and Evrane didn't glare at anybody. She just didn't. 

"You're not _saving_ anyone any time soon. What you did tonight was reckless, and I won't be having a repeat of that. You two will escort Ryber to the Resistance with the next group that comes our way."

Lizl didn't argue. She was too shocked by the fact that Evrane even knew how to raise her voice, and the fact that it was at her probably only made it worse.

Aeduan looked at her, and they reached a silent agreement, one that neither of them liked. They would have to do this on Evrane's terms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiii!!  
> This took me longer than the last three, mainly because I literally stole this plot from another chapter I had planned out a long time ago, and because my other fic is nearing the end and we wanted to finish all the chapters as soon as we figured out the ending.
> 
> I have no definite posting schedule for this fic, and I'd like to keep it that way, but I hope I won't take longer than a week with future chapters. No promises, though!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iseult and Safi are reunited, but the joy is cut short by a certain something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is shorter, and it took longer to write than usual. I spent two days just staring at my outline trying to figure out whose chapter should be next. And then I just couldn't get into it. But then I finished two thousand words in a day so I just added a conclusion (like 500 words) today. I think it's good, though.

Iseult forgot how fun traveling with Safi was. 

Fun could also be replaced with Infuriating, sure, but Iseult didn't care. They were back together again, and that made them unstoppable.

Safi didn't bring the brightest news, but Iseult couldn't find it in herself to care. She was allowed to be selfish from time to time, right? It was only healthy. That was what Safi believed, at least. So why did she feel so bad about it?

Even though they were only traveling together because of a life-ruining conspiracy, Safi, in true Safi fashion, tried to befriend the guards that were sent with her. It was a lot easier than expected.

Iseult herself had no wish to interact with anybody but her best friend, but, as it usually was, she went along with Safi's plans. 

She had half expected Safi to already have had countless experiences with their new companions, because it was _Safi_. But when Iseult joined their group, she didn't even know their names.

Instead, it was The Snappy One (which was ridiculous, because everyone was snappy around Safi) and The One Who Got Rocks Thrown At Her (Iseult didn't know what it was about, and she was even more confused when the four tried to explain it). Luckily, Iseult stopped her before she could give Zander an overly detailed nickname as well.

Iseult was never the more social one of the two of them, but spending four years with only her uncle for company had certainly taken a toll on her. 

That didn't make Iseult any less of a disaster. 

While Safi lost her ability to subtly find out what she wanted to know, Iseult didn't lose any of her awkwardness. 

She bluntly asked for the other two's names, which would have been fine if it wasn't right after one of them tripped over something.

While Safi laughed at her poor social skills, everybody else laughed at "the incredible amount of stealth it must've took" to trip over nothing. Iseult could hardly defend herself. It was a fair observation. 

She did get an answer though, so she chose to call it a win. 

Iseult knew she got used to absolutely nothing happening, and not knowing if it did happen, but she didn't think she'd know more than Safi. If anything, Iseult assumed that Safi was at the centre of it all. But her best friend didn't even hear about The Resistance.

It wasn't too shocking. When Gretchya would talk about the current events (which wasn't often) it would be exclusively to criticise the grey buildings that were marketed as safe havens. How they pretended the world wasn't changing around them. And the worst thing was that Gretchya couldn't see that she was doing the exact same thing thing.

It frustrated Iseult at first, how Gretchya obviously knew those things but would never tell her or Alma anything about it. They were instructed not to talk to newcomers at their settlement and to never lend anyone anything.

It wasn't an unusal rule, considering what they were going through. What the whole world was going through. But it became unfair when Gretchya herself talked to everyone, and always, without exception, refused to tell them any new information. Sometimes she'd outright deny that she went outside their small make-shift cottage at all. 

Alma dropped it after the first few times, which just made Iseult even more frustrated. Both of them were adult women. They had a right to know those things. Since then she started bothering Gretchya for the both of them. Alma was already better than her - she might as well make it so that the conclusion was that Iseult was worse. At least it'd be about her for once.

Because even when Gretchya criticised her, it was always about Alma. You should be like Alma. Look how good Alma is at everything. Alma listens to me. _Alma, Alma, Alma._

Iseult hated that, but even then she couldn't find it in herself to hate Alma. It wasn't her fault that she was just better. Iseult saw that too. She didn't need Gretchya to tell her Alma was everything she could never be. She was a better daughter without even being Gretchya's own. 

And she was never smug about it. That was the only thing Iseult could hate about Alma. How she was so perfect without any effort.

Iseut saw her cringing to herself when she was present during Gretchya's spirit-killing lectures. She caught the apologetic glances thrown her way when Gretchya wasn't looking. And she hated that. It would have been so much easier to just hate her. But Iseult couldn't even be jealous properly. Was there anything she could do? 

She liked to believe everyone had their own _thing_ that made them special. That made them them. Iseult didn't have that. She didn't have anythint that made her Iseult. 

No, she was always just Gretchya's daughter, or Safi's best friend. 

Gretchya seemed to think so as well. She never called Iseult useless to her face, but it was so heavily implied that she might as well have.

Because if Alma was the most perfect, useful person ever and Iseult wasn't anything like Alma (and could never even hope to be), it left only bad things. 

Safi had asked her if Gretchya brought down her spirit. She said it as a joke, but there was something sincere in it. Safi never joked about what Iseult went through with her mother. She refused to ever cross that line. Iseult knew that the only reason she didn't curse Gretchya out the moment she nodded was their new companions. 

She also knew that Safi would most certainly ask about it when they got the chance to talk alone. And that was exactly what happened. 

Caden, also known as The Snappy One, insisted that he heard something walking near them. The choice of words was what unsettled Iseult the most. Not someone. _Something._

The three were armed well, but it did little to ease her concerns as they went into the forest, straying from the path more than Iseult considered safe but enough to catch something that could be hiding in there. Watching them. 

Iseult shivered.

"Do you think it's just a bird?," she asked Safi, knowing exactly what answer she'd get. It was worth it, though. She wasted a whole minute of their time together that would undoubtedly be spent by Safi reassuring Iseult. "Or some other animal? Maybe it was nothing".

Safi raised her eyebrow. "Since when do you not worry about this stuff? You usually - you used to - insist we check everything, just to be sure." 

Iseult would much rather talk about that, but then they heard another sound. It was the unmistakeable noise of someone pushing through the bushes, very, very near where they stood

Then another branch cracked, much louder, much faster, and much, much nearer. Safi bent down to pick up a rock. Iseult didn't believe it could be too much help, but she didn't want to say it out loud. She didn't want to say anyhting out loud, because there was something in the forest, for the second time that day, and this time it wasn't friendly. 

Something stepped through the bushes behind them. Someone? Something. It looked human (though Iseult wasn't sure how those creatures were supposed to look anyway), but it felt _wrong._

Safi lowered her rock. "Oh, hello. Are you traveling too?," she asked. There was still a sense of wariness in her words.

The thing that was almost certainly not a person grinned. No, it was grinning from the start. It wasn't blinking either. As if its face was frozen. Iseult could feel the wrongness of it all. It didn't look like anything abnormal. In fact, if she saw it in the street four years ago, Iseult would have exchanged a polite greeting with it.

But four years was a long time, and whatever the newcomer was, it wasn't there to engage in friendly conversation. 

Safi didn't see it, apparently. She dropped the rock completely, and tried asking the same question in a different language. 

It took all of Iseult's self control to keep in place. All she wanted to do was take Safi's hand and drag her somewhere safe. How didn't she realise that the creature in front of them was anything but human?

Safi shifted three languages before the thing moved closer to them. Still silent. Still grinning. 

Safi seemed to take the hint. She took a step back. It was enough to provoke the monster. 

Iseult heard that they were supposedly faster and stronger than humans, but the thing crossed the whole path that separated them in a second. Iseult had never seen anything like it.

But before it could reach Safi and do unthinkable things to her, something flew above them and hit the creature in the head, knocking it down. 

"Are you okay down there?!," someone yelled. Lev. She probably threw something at the creature.

"We are now!," Safi called back. But she was fast to take back her words as the thing rose. 

Another thing (a rock, maybe, or a branch) flew to the monster's head. It wasn't enough to keep it down.

Getting hit as much as it did, the thing should have been bleeding, if not totally unable to move at this point. And yet it still looked almost like a normal person. An unsettling neighbour, perhaps. And it was still grinning. Still silent. Not one pained sound. 

The second time it got up, it didn't rush towards Safi, even if she provoked it the first time. No, it turned its head to the trees up above, where the rocks and branches had come from. And then it ran. It was up on the tree in an instant. Iseult wondered if that was what people meant when they said light speed. Surely nothing could be faster than what she had just witnessed.

Lev jumped down from the tree. Iseult had no idea how she mustered the courage to do it. It was way higher up than it was probably safe to be jumping from. 

The thing followed her down in a second, and while Lev landed on her knees and with a lot of noise, the creature managed to be back on its legs the moment it hit the ground. And it was still so eerily silent.

Lev was cursing loudly, throwing more and more things as the monster got closer to her.

"Can we help her?," Safi asked. Iseult hoped they could. She could already see the two of them charging at the strange creature, armed with nothing but big rocks.

But before she could answer, the other two showed up. Unlike Lev, they had the time to get their weapons, and they had the element of surprise.

"Run," Caden told them, "we'll meet at the city."

Safi looked at him like he had two heads. "The city?! But it's filled with those things!"

Iseult sighed. Was her best friend truly that clueless? Even when she was directly shielded from getting any news, Iseult still knew more than Safi. "It's not as dangerous as you think it is, Saf."

Caden threw a rock at the thing, regardless of the daggers in his hands. Lev laughed loudly, as if he had said the funniest joke ever. As if they weren't fighting a supernatural force. "She's right. If we don't show up by tomorrow afternoon, you should search for a woman named Evrane."

Iseult heard of the woman, although just from a few comments at the settlement. Just because she wasn't allowed to ask didn't mean she wouldn't listen when somebody else did. Gretchya could see it on her face when she did something she was forbidden, and at first Iseult didn't care. She was an adult, and she was no longer obligated to follow her mother's rules. 

Yet as the time went on, she couldn't stand the guilt. Iseult knew it was stupid. She had nothing to feel guilty about. But Gretchya had a way of making it seem like she was always right.

Iseult's little acts of rebellion were fewer in the past year, but they were still there, and she still knew things her mother wouldn't have liked her to know. 

She knew that the cities were officially under the control of those creatures, but she also knew that all the guards were human, and that they never reported anyone unless their supervisors were near.

From what Iseult knew, Evrane was the head of a small organisation. They helped people get to places. It seemed simple enough when said like that, but Iseult had to admire everybody that worked with her. One encounter with just one monster was enough to make her see the bravery they must possess. 

Safi looked like she was about to ask another question, but Caden repeated himself. "Run." 

And so they did. They ran until they couldn't hear their companions struggling anymore. They ran until the calm yet unsettling face of what was once a person was only in their memory. 

They couldn't run forever, but Iseult pushed herself to put as much distance as she could between them and the monster. It wasn't the smartest move, apparently, because by the time they stopped, her legs hurt like she had been walking for days.

"We left them there," Safi said. It wasn't what Iseult would have expected to hear from her. It was Safi, after all. Usually she would just make a comment about the thing being tragically ugly. 

But Safi changed, and even though she was still so undeniably Safi, Iseult felt like she had to get to know her all over again. Not that she would mind. Safi might be reckless and outright stupid it at times, but she was remarkable in her own way. 

And she didn't do anything wrong. She didn't deserve to feel guilty.

"They told us to. It'll be okay, we just need to get to the city." Iseult wasn't used to reassuring anyone, much less the always confident Safi. But she could make an exception. Just this time.

Safi nodded. "You're right. Let's go."

And so they did. They weren't running anymore, which was probably a good call.

Iseult had some money that she brought with her specifically for situations like this. Once they reached the wall, the guards outside asked if they were registered. 

Safi looked at Iseult in confusion. Of course she didn't know about that either. Iseult had to take the lead twice in one day already, and she was tired. How did Safi manage to do it all the time?

"We aren't," Iseult said, "is that a problem?". She knew it wasn't. The guard shook his head, signaling to his colleagues to open the gate.

Safi looked at the man suspiciously before following Iseult into the city.

The crowds were filled with people, real people, but there was the occasional creature that felt wrong. Just like the one in the forest. Their faces were frozen too, in a variety of expressions. Like they were once human, and you could see right on their face when it ended.

"How are we going to survive a whole day in here?," Safi asked. Iseult couldn't answer that question.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merik and Cam are in the city, but things don't go like they're supposed to.

The city was everything Aunt Evrane said it was, but so, so much more she hadn't mentioned too. Merik was glad he wasn't alone, at least, even if he didn't feel too safe traveling with someone who tried to rob him. 

He didn't even get a proper apology. "We're all desperate now," the almost-thief said, "some of us are just more willing to show it."

Merik knew that made sense, but he still didn't like it. How was he supposed to trust this person? He asked as much, which earned him an eye roll. 

"Do you want my entire backstory just so you can decide if you feel bad enough for me to excuse what I did?". Merik was aware that it was a joke, but it didn't seem unreasonable to him at all.

He didn't get a backstory, but he did get a name, which was good enough. He wouldn't have to call his new companion the almost theif in his head all the time. 

The thing about the city that startled him the most were the people. The people, and the things that weren't people for a very long time. 

Evrane never went into detail when she described the beasts, and Merik was too busy hiding whenever they raided the estate, which happened twice. It was two times too much.

Merik was glad he didn't see them, because he definitely would run from his hiding spot. His instincts still screamed at him to get away, but he didn't think that Cam would appreciate that. And after being ridiculed for literally everything he did, Merik wasn't looking forward to that. 

The guards at the gate seemed to recognise Cam, which Merik guessed was a good thing. That made his story about being with the Resistance more plausible. Merik still wasn't completely sure, but if Cam was going to just rob him and leave him...well, he already had the chance, and he almost did do it. 

Merik never thought he would be thankful for his things almost getting stolen, but he had no idea where he would go. If what happened didn't happen, he would probably get lost in the forest, best case. There was also the ever present threat of death. And that was if he even managed to make himself move, which didn't seem likely. 

Merik didn't know anything about how the world worked these days, but he knew that he was in the same city Aunt Evrane lived in. He had half a mind to just abandon Cam and go searching for her, but Cam would probably be more likely to know where she was. And besides, Merik didn't know the rules. He didn't want to get caught by those creatures if he could help it.

So he followed Cam, who answered every single question Merik had with only the slightest hit of annoyance showing after the tenth 

Some of the answers were a bit confusing. Aunt Evrane never gave Merik any details. Not that he asked for them. And she wasn't working with the Resistance. That much Merik already knew, but he thought she'd still be at least civil with them.

However, Cam said that it was his job to meet with someone to get new information on something once a month, because no one from the Resistance was stationed in the city. Merik couldn't imagine that Aunt Evrane wouldn't know what was going on. She was the type of person to figure out the punchline of a joke after the first word (even if jokes never made her laugh).

He always assumed she was at least connected to the Resistance. Why wouldn't she be? defying those creatures was basically her job description. Unless the Resistance wasn't what they made themselves out to be. 

Cam seemed nice enough (even if he showed no regret for the stealing accident), and what he said about the Resistance made sense. An organisation meant to fight for the sake of the world. But Merik couldn't trust a stranger more than he trusted Aunt Evrane. And if she didn't want to associate with the Resistance, she must have a reason. Merik just had to find out what it was.

Cam insisted that they had to get to the meeting place as fast as possible. Merik didn't know why it was so important. If whatever message he had to get contained key information, then whoever was delivering it would surely wait however long they had to.

But instead Cam and Merik were the ones left waiting. They sat in a restaurant with awful interior. Even the Old House was more pleasant than that wooden building with yellow curtains. And not even a regular yellow. It was that greenish highlight yellow not one sane person could stand. 

"That colour hurts my eyes," Merik said. He didn't even get a response, other than an eye roll. 

As more and more time passed, it became clear that whoever was supposed to come wasn't going to show up. Cam was insistent that they had to wait just a bit longer. And then that "just a bit" turned into an hour and a half. Cam didn't have too much money, and Merik had none, so they had to satisfy themselves with unsatisfying tea that Merik abandoned after the first taste. 

He was debating drinking the rest, which was just proof of how the (untastefully decorated) environment was driving him insane. The tea had already gone cold, which probably made it even worse, but it was the only thing Merik could do. 

Other patrons at the restaurant were only slightly more pleasant than the tea. There were two women on the table next to them. One of them couldn't stop making fun of the way that those creatures looked. She watched them through the window and commented on their faces while her friend tried to get her to stop. It wasn't working very well, from what Merik could hear. And he could hear a lot, considering how loud and insufferable the blonde eas. 

He debated leaving the restaurant right then and there, but he had no idea where he could find Aunt Evrane, and Cam might, so Merik couldn't just leave him there. 

Two hours passed, and still no sign of a messanger. "Can't we just go?," Merik asked, breaking the silence. He didn't expect much talking, but the fact that no words were spoken since they sat down and ordered was ridiculous. They seemed to be the opposite of the table next to them, who were now discussing whether throwing rocks at things was an actual efficient strategy. 

"Another fifteen minutes." 

That meant no.

They were both looking at the clock (a red one that clashed with the curtains in the worst way possible) on the opposite wall. Merik didn't know if they would actually get going after fiteen minutes. Cam seemed to take this very seriously, much unlike the common sense things everyone was taught in first grade like that stealing is bad. 

Lying was also bad, which Cam seemed to understand too, because they did get up from their table after fifteen minutes. Merik was surprised he remembered how to walk after sitting there for hours and having to drink that disappointment of a beverage. 

Cam abruptly stopped walking as soon as he walked out of the restaurant. He moved a bit, just so people could still walk in. 

Cam seemed very worried, which could have been a reasonable reaction. Or maybe not. Apparently Resistance matters were too confidential for Merik to know. 

"Why can't you just go to wherever this message was supposed to come from?," Merik asked. It made sense. Well, at least it made more sense than walking aimlessly around a city filled with monsters.

Cam looked at him as if he just grew three more heads. Merik didn't like it. 

"Nobody knows where the place actually is," Cam explained. Merik fought the urge to ask why. It was just another piece of evidence that the Resistance wasn't trustworthy. "They fear someone could find them if that information spreads."

Merik couldn't just not ask who _they_ were. It seemed like he was the only one who didn't know anything about the state of the world. Actually, it felt like a whole another world. Merik regretted not listening to Aunt Evrane the first few times she tried to actually tell him something. She gave up soon, never bothering with him if he wasn't going to listen to her. 

Merik usually respected that, but for once he wished that Aunt Evrane could have been just a bit more annoyingly persistent in trying to update him on how the world was changing, instead of just trying to convince him to join her forces. At least then he wouldn't seem like a complete idiot.

But he didn't know anything, and since Aunt Evrane was nowhere near, he had to ask Cam. Merik didn't enjoy doing that. The Resistance still seemed sketchy to him, and the information could be incorrect. He would have no way of knowing if it was. Not until he managed to find Aunt Evrane.

It did seem pretty absurd, that there would be a whole building that no one would know the whereabouts of. And not a small building either, if Cam was to be believed. Unless it was somewhere underground, Merik couldn't understand why they didn't relocate into a safer location. 

It was apparently a school before everything went to Hell. The fact that they stayed there was reckless, if not completely and utterly stupid. Especially for an institution that was supposedly filled with smart people. Very important smart people figuring out very important smart people stuff. That made the whole thing even worse. Merik said as much out loud.

"So what, you think someone found them?," Cam asked. Merik couldnt tell if it was supposed to be sarcastic or an actual question. 

"Well, if someone did, where could you find people who managed to get away?"

Merik knew the answer. He knew that Aunt Evrane's network was pretty well known among people all over the continent. So when Cam said that there was a place that everyone deemed safe, Merik felt proud of himself for achieving it without having to explicitly ask about his aunt. If she really knew something about the Resistance that she wasn't supposed to know, it would be better not to tell Cam that they were family just yet.

Cam went back in and talked to the waiter. Merik could guess what he was asking about. It wasn't like they were talking about many things the whole day. Eventually Cam got the information he needed because he got back outside.

They didn't walk for too long, and when they finally got into the street they needed, Merik was surprised. There were too many identical buildings. It was so different from what he was used to.

Merik was at his Aunt's house more than he was even at his own. The building they ended up in front of was definitely nothing like it. Aunt Evrane wasn't big on gardens, but at least her yard had some personality. 

"Do we just go in?," Merik asked. He wasn't the slightest bit experienced with anything concerning the current state of world. 

"We go up to her apartment," Cam said. It was obvious, really, but at the same time, it seemed a bit...too simple. "And if she's not there, then any apartment in this buidling would do. They say that her network is pretty big, but I'm not sure how big pretty big is." 

Merik knew that Aunt Evrane tried to make her line of work as accessible as possible to everyone, but it seemed too easy. Still, he followed Cam into the building, and up the stairs. There was no lift, which was quite possibly the least weird thing about the building. 

They didn't hear anything from the apartments they passed by. No TV sounds, no talking. No noise at all. It was as if the entire building was abandoned. There were no mail boxes anywhere, either. Merik expected them on the first floor, and when they weren't there, he guessed they'd be next to apartments. But they weren't.

The entrance door wasn't even locked, though it might have been once upon a time judging by how half the glass was broken. 

Doors to apartments didn't have names on them. The whole building was just...wrong. It wasn't made for living, at least not originally. 

There were too many floors for there to be no lift, too. Merik counted about six before the stairs became too tiring for him to even think about anything while going up. 

Cam seemed to be handling it with ease. Merik did chores around the Old House all the time, fixing old stuff just to have something to do. He walked around the property, too, but he wasn't prepared for so many stairs. He didn't know whether it meant that the amount of staircases in a single building was inhumane, or he was simply out of shape. 

Eventually they made it to the last floor. It seemed more and more like a trap. The doors weren't labeled, after all. How would people even know where to find her? 

But Cam seemed pretty confident that the third door on the last floor was hers. Merik didn't want to question, but it didn't seem right that it would be so easy and yet so hard to find her. 

It wouldn't be at all difficult to find her if you knew who exactly you were looking for, and if you, like Cam apparently did, knew where she llived. But since the building didn't have an adress, nor anything to set it aside from other high buildings in the street, and the apartments didn't even have numbers on the doors, it seemed awfully suspicious.

But when Cam knocked on the door, it really was Aunt Evrane who opened. She didn't look too happy to be bothered, which Merik guessed made sense. It wasn't too late, but the building was already quiet. Perhaps she wasn't used to seeing people at that time. 

Nevertheless, she let them in and locked the door after them. 

She told them to sit, still looking annoyed. But her expression changed the moment she saw Merik. She didn't say anything to him, but a small smile showed him that she was glad he was there. Maybe she thought that he was considering joining her team, like she tried to convince him every time she came around. 

But before they could say anything to each other, Cam asked if it was possible that she knew what happened to the Convent. That was apparently how the place they were all depending on was called. 

Evrane nodded along as she listened. Even as Cam mentioned being sent by the Resistance, her face didn't change. Was she really not as against them as Merik thought?

Finally, when Cam was done telling his part of the story, she said that the Convent burned down. 

It came out of her mouth so casually, as if she said things like that all the time. With how Cam painted the importance of the Convent and the people inside it, it should have been devastating information. 

Cam reacted to it like it was expected, too, but with just the slightest worry on his face. Merik was even more confused. Was it, or was it not an important place?

Aunt Evrane didn't offer them anything to drink or eat when she stood up, and she didn't return with anything but papers. It was weird to Merik, who basically grew up at her house. She wasn't big on cooking and domestic work in general, but she'd always take having guests very seriously. 

Four years in the middle of Hell could change a person, apparently. 

She didn't let them see what was written on the papers. It was probably confidential. That, or maybe Evrane really didn't trust the Resistance as he previously thought. 

She just put them on her side of the long wooden table, as if to prove that she did in fact have them. "We managed to save these and just a couple more documents."

"And people?"

"One. She's supposed to be delivering these to the Resistance. I suppose you would like to be on that group as well?," Evrane asked. It was a sincere question, or at least it seemed like that, but Merik couldn't help but think that she was telling rather than asking. As if they had no choice.

He quickly shook the thought off. Evrane was doing this for people in need. She wouldn't just leave them without a choice. 

Merik was relieved when Cam nodded and she only then wrote something down in a notebook he hadn't noticed she had gotten out and on the table. 

"We're still waiting for a few more people for your group, but if it's urgent, we could send you right away."

Merik didn't think it was urgent. Was it urgent? Would he even be going with Cam? He still hadn't decided on that. It seemed like an obvious choice. Staying with Aunt Evrane would make much more sense. Merik didn't know why he was even considering the other choice.

But as soon as Cam said that they could wait, Evrane redirected her attention to him. She didn't say anything in front of Cam, but she motioned for him to follow her to what he assumed was supposed to be a kitchen.

Merik noticed a few newer bruises on her face, but he didn't mention it. They never really talked about it. Merik didn't know how he would even start that conversation.

He didn't know how to start this conversation, either. But Aunt Evrane did. 

"You're here," she said. It was a simple statement, but Merik knew what she actually meant: _why are you here?_

"There's no water in the old well." Evrane nodded, which Merik took as a sign to go on. "And Cam was going through the forest, so we found each other and I went with him."

He didn't mention the whole stealing accident. It wasn't very relevant, and he didn't know how Aunt Evrane would react to it.

"I'm glad you're here." Merik didn't expect that. The last time she said something like that was years ago, when she found him at the Old House. "But you're not staying, are you?"

Merik didn't know how to respond to that. 

"It's okay. As long as you're safe, it's okay. And you'll be safe if you go with this group." Merik appreciated that. He thought he would have to hear another preaching about how he should join her in her line of work. 

"Thank you."

Evrane cracked a smile. It was almost like the past four years never happened. "Do you want anything to drink?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one took so long because, to be completely honest, I wrote all but 500/3200 words today. My mind has been elsewhere ever since an accident with a friend and I couldn't get into it. I hope the next one comes out sooner


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Safi and Iseult make it to the city, Evrane's building isn't original, everybody hates the restaurant from the last chapter.

Once she got used to seeing those horrible creatures everywhere, they weren't as scary. In fact, some of them had the absolute funniest faces.

Iseult called her an idiot, and she was probably right. That still didn't stop Safi from pointing out the most ridiculous frozen faces.

They stopped in a small restaurant. Iseult had enough money for a cheaper meal for the both of them. Safi chose one of the seats next to the windows.

"So we can see if our friends have come," she explained.

Iseult raised an eyebrow. "Why are we really sitting here?"

"I just want to see if most of those things are as funny as the ones we've seen so far."

That was, of course, excluding the one that they encountered in the forest. It was truly terrifying to have that creature charge at her faster than light, all while grinning.

Safi still felt bad for leaving Caden, Lev and Zander to deal with it. Realistically, she knew her and Iseult wouldn't have been much help, being as inexperienced as they were. That didn't stop her from feeling guilty. Surely they would be capable of doing _something_.

"You're sick," Iz said, stirring her coffee. She wasn't wrong. Well, not about Safi being sick. She was definitely wrong about ordering coffee. They both were. It was awful.

Still, coffee was coffee, and sleep deprived people were...desperate. Safi got used to oversleeping back at that awful grey building, mainly because there was nothing else to do.

They had coffee there, and it was so much better than the one in the restaurant. Still, she had no reason to drink it, and when she did it would be with just a bit more sugar than necessary.

This restaurant didn't even offer sugar. Not that it would be able to save the awful tasting trainwreck that was the coffee.

Safi saw how the people next to them reacted to the tea. It wasn't much better, apparently. She could see it from just their faces, though they didn't speak to each other. Not after one of them made a comment about the curtains, and the other said absolutely nothing.

Safi couldn't imagine any kind of meal without speaking. Even back in that awful grey building she'd make small talk, as annoying as the people around her were.

There was this one woman who got her name wrong every time. Safi settled for being Alexandra, because, out of all her choices, that was the best one.

Iz wasn't very big on talking during meals, either, but she got used to it while traveling with Safi.

They never really got to see the whole world. It was their plan, and Safi was sure she still had the map of their route somewhere in her room back at the building.

Safi and Iseult weren't too similar, but it would be just boring if they were. They weren't friends despite their differences, but _because_ of them.

They balanced each other out. Brought out the best in each other. Safi made Iseult more open to reckless ideas, and Iseult showed Safi that planning ahead wasn't pointless.

Safi couldn't stop thinking about what might have been - what probably would have been - if the past four years never happened.

Their "trip around the world" (except not really the whole world) wouldn't have taken about six years for everything they wanted to see. But instead, they were separated.

If only they had made it overseas on time. But they didn't, and they had to deal with the consequences.

The rest of the world was free of the monsters. At least for now. But they didn't send help. At least not as far as Safi knew. The single news channel that played on the old TVs they had back in the building was a joke. They never reported on anything actually important.

Of course they didn't. While it was normal people speaking, those behind the scenes had frozen faces. Safi didn't like the thought of that. She didn't even think about it back when she used to get annoyed at the reporters for pretending everything was normal. She never considered what made them stay instead of going into hiding.

It just made her wonder just how many people were there like her and Iseult, with no documents, and how many were being kept there against their will.

Safi didn't like thinking about it. It was far too serious a topic for a restaurant with mediocre food. Especially since she still felt bad about leaving the forest.

"What do we do now?," Iseult asked. She didn't give up on her coffee, and Safi knew it was only because she didn't like leaving food behind in her plate. The same went for drinks, apparently.

Safi herself moved onto the fish she ordered. It was the cheapest thing in the menu. Iseult didn't have a lot of money, after all, and they didn't know how long they would have to stay.

Safi only regretted her decision a bit when Iseult (who got mild soup that she hadn't yet touched to go with her coffee) pointed out that it wasn't a seaside city, and that it wasn't anywhere near one.

"Well, Caden said we should look for that woman." Safi couldn't for the life of her remember the name. She wasn't good with names. It was like a curse.

Iseult put her drink down. Safi did the same with her fork and knife, not wanting to look like she wasn't taking it as seriously as her best friend. Iseult somehow always managed to be so serious without making it boring. Well, most of the time at least.

"Evrane, yes." So _that_ was her name. "But he said that we should only do that if they don't return until the end of the day."

Safi hoped they would come back, she really did, but it had already been some time, and the sun wouldn't stay up for much longer.

"We could at least try to find her. So we know where she is if they don't come," Safi suggested. She hated saying the last words. _If they don't come._ She hoped with all her heart they would. And not with frozen faces. She might've only known them for two days, but they didn't deserve a fate like that. No one did.

"The people at my settlement said she and her network operate from a building somewhere in the city. They're all registered as legal citizens."

"Did they say what the building looked like?"

Iseult nodded. She took another sip of her coffee before answering. Safi hoped that meant that the situation didn't require getting as nervous as she was in that moment.

When Iseult spoke, she sounded like she was doing a school project. All of the information she had was said in an easily comprehensible, precise way.

"It's tall. Very tall. We're talking around fifteen stories. Some say it's white, though I heard people saying it's grey, so we should be on the lookout for both." She sounded like she was reading the information off a list of sorts. If it was anuone else, Safi would have mocked them for it. "Obviously old. It has no address or anything that would make you guess it's a space people live in."

"I don't know which part of the town it's in, though," Iseult said quietly, as if she was ashamed to admit it.

"Don't worry, Iz," Safi said, offering a reassuring smile. Or at least she hoped it was reassuring.

Safi was completely aware of the fact that worrying was Iseult's default setting. Mostly it would be worrying for her, because Safi had the tendency to get in trouble whenever there were other people around. And people being there was completely optional.

She also worried about what she said. Too much. Safi thought it was ridiculous. She loved her friend, and that was exactly why she wished Iseult would just stop being so anxious over every single thing. It hurt to watch, sometimes.

"It's more than enough. We can work with that."

×

They could not work with that.

Not because Iseult didn't have all the information. Certainly not because of that. She had every bit of information right.

No, the problem was that as soon as they found one building that fit the description, they realised that so did the one next to it. And the one across it. And almost every building meant for living in the whole city.

Shortly, they were screwed.

Who could they even ask about it? Safi couldn't even tell the difference between real people and those awful creatures sometimes. How would she know who would and who wouldn't report her for asking about a way to get out of there as quickly as possible.

While Safi was just a bit worried, Iseult was fully panicking. She didn't say anything, but Safi could see it on her face as she desperately tried to come up with an idea. For all she told Safi that it would be okay, that they would find a way to this woman, she didn't seem to believe it that much.

There was a park nearby. It looked old and brand new at the same time. Perhaps it was the lack of people that gave it that feeling of vague wrongness.

But that's where they sat, regardless of the atmosphere. Or rather, Safi sat there and Iseult followed. They looked just stupid, standing there in the middle of the street.

And Safi just really wanted to sit. Her legs were aching.

"So what now?," she asked, hoping Iseult had already found a way to differentiate between the buildings.

But Iz didn't know how to do that. It was too much to expect, and yet Safi still found she was disappointed with Iseult's very reasonable solution.

"We need to rent a room for the night, and...well, who's to say that they won't be here come tomorrow morning?"

Iseult didn't usually say things like that. Her optimist was nonexistent. Safi could tell she was just saying it for her sake.

It was still sweet of her, even if it was a total trainwreck. She looked too awkward while saying it.

The smile she gave Safi after the statement was even more awkward. "So, what do you say?"

"As long as we're together, I don't mind whether we sleep on the street or in some high end tavern."

Iseult rolled her eyes. "You're an idiot."

"I am offended. That was quite possibly the sweetest thing I ever said to you."

Iseult didn't seem very intimidated by Safi's fake defensiveness. "I get what you meant, but we could literally get killed for staying outside after curfew."

Well, how was she supposed to know _that?_

She just had to work around it. "Maybe I meant that even in death I want us to be together."

"No, you didn't."

"No, I didn't.

Iseult laughed in a way that made it obvious that she wanted to call Safi an idiot again. Safi was glad she didn't.

Finding a room in the city wasn't too hard. The restaurant they were in before had a few available. Iseult insisted they take a two bed room instead of separate rooms. Safi didn't know if it was because of the money or because she thought it wiser to stick together.

Neither of them had any spare clothes, but thar didn't matter. They were both exhausted, though Safi doubted they'd get any sleep knowing where they were now.

Iseult assured her that the guards at the gate wouldn't report them, and that even then they would have no way of knowing where they were as the restaurant obviously didn't work past curfew.

They talked for the most of the night. There were both tears and laughter. Sometimes they came one after the other, sometimes one because of the other. Catching up had never been so sweet and yet so painful at the same time.

Safi actually managed to get about three hours in the early morning. She didn't know if Iseult got any sleep, but her best friend was already stressed and Safi thought it better not to bother her about it. She knew Iseult could take care of herself. But after so many years apart, Safi wanted nothing more than to make sure she was all right.

That could wait, though. It _had_ to wait. Now their main concern had to be finding this woman. 

But after that, Safi wouldn't give up until Iseult slept full eight hours at the very least. 

She told her as much, which resulted in an eye roll. "You can't make me sleep."

"I can and will. I will bore you to sleep if I have to."

"And you plan to do that how, exactly?"

Well, Safi hadn't thought of that yet. But she would find a way.

"It's a secret."

"That means you don't know."

"That means I do know but I can't tell you. It's the basic definition of secret."

Iseult gave up on the argument. They had already packed the little they got out of their bags for the night. They only paid to sleep there, not spend the day, so they had to get moving as soon as the restaurant opened. 

While checking her bag to see if she forgot something, Safi found out that her uncle threw in a a thing or two. Including a tiny bag with a not-so-tiny amount of money. She immediately felt bad for Iseult having to pay for their mediocre lunch and the room.

They got downstairs as soon as the restaurant opened. Safi went to return the keys before she sat down at the same table they ate at yesterday. 

Iseult sighed, sitting down next to her. "What are you doing?"

Safi waved the tiny bag in front of her friend's face. "We deserve a shitty breakfast, don't we?"

"We most certainly do."

They didn't speak about what they would do after. Probably go to the hospital, or whatever the equivalent of a hospital was with those almost invincible creatures running around. Safi was fairly sure that the pancakes they ordered were at least a day old. She wasn't very fond of going hungry, but she prefered not getting a food poisoning.

Iseult got coffee again. Safi couldn't do that to her poor throat and stomach. They deserved better. 

When it came down to actually drinking her water, Safi became a bit sceptical. "You don't think they could fuck up a glass of water, do you?"

"You won't know until you try," was Iseult's uninterested response. So Safi took a sip. It wasn't bad, because water couldn't be bad. But the glass was definitely not washed very well.

If the internet was still intact, she would have written a very strongly worded review. The only good thing about the place were the servers. 

Still, Safi couldn't just abandon her water. She took another sip. She didn't even have time to swallow before something caught her eye.

Safi spit the water out in surprise.

"It's that bad?," Iseult asked, seemingly coming back from her own world. 

"No, look!" Safi gestured towards the big window, causing several other people in the restaurant to look. 

There, just outside the big window, were their friends. Safi was glad to see that they could all walk properly, but that didn't mean they weren't injured. She ran out of the restaurant immediately.

The big wooden door slammed behind her loudly, causing everyone in the street to turn around. Including her three friends. 

"You're alive!," she exclaimed, running towards them. The good news was that she couldn't see any serious injuries, just a couple of bruises and cuts here and there. Some of those were going to scar, she was sure of that.

Not like it mattered very much. They all already had their fair share of scars. What mattered was that they were there, and that they weren't dead.

"Only out of spite," Caden said. Safi rolled her eyes. She didn't dare ask about the creature or what happened after her and Iseult left. 

Iseult came up behind her. She probably stayed behind to pay their bill. And to pick up Safi's own stuff, which she handed to her. 

"And you lost your supplies out of spite, too?"

That's when Safi noticed that all the bags they were carrying yesterday were gone. It was going to be a long journey to Dalmotti.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aeduan not knowing anything about kids featuring Owl (a kid).

If there was one thing Aeduan hated more than people in general, it was people in his own personal space. 

But he couldn't get mad, because he brought this onto himself. It wasn't like the kid asked him to bring her with him. No, it was his own decision. And he didn't regret it one bit. 

The kid was obviously lost. Possibly starving. Aeduan couldn't tell. It was policy not to bring anyone who wasn't actively seeking them out to the headquarters, but they made the exception for children a thousand times before. 

And as usual, Evrane had no problem with it. Neither did Aeduan, until he realised that he would be stuck with this child. 

The little girl said maybe ten words total the whole day, and even those ten were in Nomatsi, a language not commonly spoken. In fact, Aeduan was fairly sure that he was the only one in the entire building who did speak it.

And the child had gotten attached to him already. Aeduan wished he could hate it, but it would be completely unethical to hate a child. 

Evrane insisted on it, too. She had a soft spot for children, though she would never admit it. And Aeduan couldn't find it in himself fo argue with Evrane. He knew he'd lose. 

Usually, people who were waiting on their groups to go were in the apartments on the first three floors. Unaccompanied children would be paired with a family, preferably one that already had younger members, or at least pets.

But, well, this was an obvious exception from the start. And Aeduan would be lying if he said he hated the arrangement. The kid wasn't too bad. She kept to herself, mostly, and she didn't talk too much. Granted, every small conversation was too much for Aeduan, but that wasn't a problem here.

She didn't ask for anything, but Aeduan didn't know if she would. So he went out, telling Lizl to keep an eye out on his door if his small guest decided to leave. He could tell she wasn't listening until he said the word kid. Not even Lizl would leave a child alone, even if it was to spite Aeduan.

First he went to what was presented as a supermarket, but was a small town store at best. It was a small square room. The actual supermarkets were all in ruins by now. Too much people were in there, and too little walked out. Those who did were no longer people.

So instead of a bigger building with air conditioning, Aeduan was stuck browsing through a scorching hot excuse for a store. His plan was to buy kid friendly food, but he had absolutely no idea what that included. And he really didn't like having to find out.

But he still asked the only cashier there, who just so happened to have three kids that he had to hear about for the next fifteen minutes (and the kids' greatest accomplishment was moving out of her house, so they weren't very remarkable either).

Then she said she knew the struggles of a new parent, which Aeduan, again, didn't want to know about but had to if he wanted the woman to actually answer his question. 

Eventually, after about half an hour, she had no more topics to talk about, and just told him that _her_ kids all had varying tastes and that there wasn't a type of food all kids liked that could be eaten for lunch.

Fantastic. All that suffering for nothing.

Aeduan ended up buying a lot of sweets, and some real food that wasn't too raw. He honestly had no idea how old the kid was, and even if he had, he wouldn't know what kids her age were like. Did they have all their teeth? Were the teeth going to start falling out? That would be bad. Aeduan didn't want to have to act tooth fairy under any circumstances, for any child.

His next stop was a pharmacy. Aeduan had nothing but a first aid kit in his apartment, and he couldn't very well use that on a child.

So he bought band aids, and some pills for stomach aches and head aches and all the things he was sure adults got but not so sure if young kids experienced.

He had to get her some clothes too. Evrane had spares but nothing seemed to fit her, and Aeduan was already spending more money than he should have.

He just hoped he got the size right. If he was already going to spend most his money on the clothes, it might as well be good. 

His small guest seemed delighted when he came back with bags and set them in front of her. She looked even happier when she realised it was all for her. 

Maybe it wasn't a total waste of money. 

Aeduan left her alone in the living room to go through the clothes. He almost forgot she existed at one point. She figured everything out on her own. Aeduan found her drinking water, which wasn't at all strange until he realised that glasses were on the highest shelf and that he definitely didn't give her one.

Aeduan didn't actually know how to deal with a child in his personal space, but not even asking if she wanted to eat or drink anything was all kinds of stupid. He didn't even know what he would do if the kid threw a tantrum over being hungry.

So Aeduan made sure she wasn't. He had to meet with Evrane, but before that, he opened the fridge and let his little guest chose what she wanted to eat. It's not like she had much to chose from, but she seemed to appreciate all the same. Aeduan was glad. He knew some kids were picky eaters, but he didn't know how to deal with it. 

She picked some meat he had leftover from yesterday's lunch. That was a surprising choice, but then again, Aeduan wasn't going to complain. Maybe he could return some of the overpriced items he bought at the store.

He planned on eating the meat himself, but he couldn't just say no to someone after telling them to chose. Especially if the someone in question was quite possibly the first child Aeduan had interacted with since his own childhood. 

He _was_ sent to help a lot of families find their way, but it would usually be parents or siblings taking care of the tiny people who were always hungry, tired, or bored. Aeduan wanted nothing to do with them, and for understandable reasons. Sometimes not even families could make the children stop crying. How was he supposed to do it, with his nonexistent social skills?

He asked Evrane before the meeting. She practically raised him and Lizl, and Aeduan knew she also had a nephew and niece. Well, he didn't know it until a day ago, when her nephew came and had to let everyone know Evrane was his aunt. If he thought it would earn him special treatment, he was right. People especially avoided him. 

Or at least the people Aeduan found easy to tolerate and interact with did. Lizl had already snapped at the nephew three times for playing the TV too loud. Her apartment was just below Evrane's, and every little sound irritated her. The people in the apartments next to her got yelled at for every stupid thing.

Evrane, however, had no advice for him when it came to dealing with a kid. "Every child is different. You'll just have to figure it out on your own." 

Oh, how Aeduan hated those words. The main reason that Evrane even created the network was to help people so they don't have to get places on their own. But suddenly Aeduan had to deal with a small ticking bomb alone. It didn't help that she sounded a lot like that obnoxious cashier. 

He couldn't protest the useless advice because soon enough Lizl and Ryber came.

They had to decide what to do, after all. The world didn't revolve around Aeduan and his inability to interact with children.

The attack on the Convent was intentional, and if whoever was responsible for the Cleaved had information of its whereabouts they might have information on the people living in it.

Ryber tried being optimistic, but she was shut down soon enough by Evrane telling her they had to prepare for the worst case scenario. Aeduan heard those same words a thousand times, and yet he still couldn't decide whether it was an effective approach or if Evrane was overreacting. 

The worst case scenario in this situation was that the Cleaved were looking for Ryber. Or at least that was what Aeduan thought.

But what Evrane presented as the worst possible outcome was that they knew about everything. About the Resistance, about their little movement.

Ryber assured them that no documents in the Convent included either, other than the messages that she had brought with herself to meet with someone from the Resistance.

But no documents anywhere included the Convent, either. Aeduan had no idea how they would find it. Of course, they could hear about it from a spineless coward intimidated by those frozen faces and their inhumane abilities.

But people like that would never, ever be trusted with the location of one of the places with key information for saving the world. Or, well, the remains of it. And not even all the remains. 

They'd just have to work through this situation, and then what was worth being saved would be saved. Aeduan personally never believed they'd see an end to this new age of the world, but everyone else seemed to take it as fact. 

Even Evrane. Evrane, who was always preparing for the worst possible situation, going so far to the point where sometimes those outcomes were completely impossible. 

They had decided to send Ryber with a bigger group, with both Aeduan and Lizl leading. It was the best option. Not that they had many of those. Another one that Evrane considered for longer than Aeduan would have expected was sending Ryber with only one of them.

They never did that. Evrane always repeated that it should be at least three people in a group, excluding the person leading them. It was obvious that option B wasn't going to work, but being able to choose made them seem less desperate.

They couldn't agree on how big the group should be yet, mainly because a big one had already gone a few days ago and they would have to wait for more people to come, as the first floors were currently unoccupied other than Ryber and another person.

The conversation stretched far into the afternoon, and after that Aeduan was pulled aside by Lizl, who once again wanted to complain about Evrane's nephew and how he acted like he owned the place. She seemed much more irritated by him than literally anyone else was, but that was to be expected. It was Lizl, after all. 

By the time he came back, his small guest was sleeping. Aeduan would have no problems with that, if she hadn't taken his bed.

He thought about waking her up, but it would be just cruel. Besides, who knew how long she was alone on the street. He could let her have a proper bed for one night. 

It wasn't like he slept much, and the couch was just as comfortable as the bed, which is to say, barely better than concrete. Not even the pillows made it better. 

That didn't matter. Aeduan had actually slept on concrete multiple times, and this was nothing. He was still somewhat warm, had a roof over his head, and food in the next room over. 

There were worse places to sleep than an old uncomfortable couch, so that wasn't the reason Aeduan couldn't sleep. He decided to blame the current events, but that was most definitely not the reason either.

Sleepless nights weren't unsual for him. Neither were nightmares. Maybe that was the reason. 

But he would be of no use to Evrane if he was tired. Grunting, Aeduan got up from the couch. It creaked under him, and for a moment Aeduan worried about waking up the child. He left the door to the bedroom open, knowing that he probably wouldn't get much sleep and that if she needed something she probably wouldn't wake him up.

Not like Aeduan _wanted_ to be woken up by a kid whose name he didn't know in the middle of the night, but he didn't want her to get hurt either, and that was only because Evrane would be disappointed. 

But she was still asleep, curled in the same way she was earlier that evening. Or was it last night? Aeduan couldn't tell.

He walked to the kitchen, trying to make as little noise as possible. It wasn't very hard, considering his training, but he wasn't used to doing it in the shitty apartment where every second step made the floor creak.

Aeduan opened the box of pills he got for his small guest. They were technically for stomach pains, but the woman at the pharmacy said that they would make a person sleepy. It was worth a shot. 

Aeduan took three pills, which was probably more than he should have, and went back to the couch. Sleep caught up to him fast, and he woke up to the sound of the fridge doors slamming.

Aeduan was usually much more alert, and his sleep was weak enough for just a curtain being moved by the wind to wake him. It must have been the damn pills.

Either way, he couldn't let his small guest get food alone. She could break something and get hurt, and Aeduan didn't want that to happen. Too much crying. 

Again, she chose the leftover meat. Aeduan assumed she ate all of it yesterday. He didn't know if two days old meat could result in food poisoning, and he didn't want to find out. But he also didn't want to have to tell a child that she couldn't have something. In his (very limited) experience, that was always a bad thing to say. 

Evrane would probably have something to say about eating meat for breakfast, but Aeduan found that his small guest had already set a plate for him. He couldn't say no to her after that. 

There wasn't a fork or knife in sight, but a plate was still something. He thanked her, despite knowing she probably wouldn't respond. 

Then he got them both forks and knives, which the kid proceeded to ignore. Aeduan didn't want to criticise her, so he just focused on his own plate.

He had to leave again, after that. The discussion was far from over, and they still needed to decide on a total number of people to accept into this next group. 

They had been preparing for the worst, and that would include people looking for Ryber. So they needed to get as many people as possible for protection. 

Aeduan turned the TV on for the kid, and told her he'd be back by afternoon. She didn't give any other reaction than a simple nod at first, but before he could unlock the door, Aeduan felt tiny arms around him. Or, well, on his sides. Actually the sides of his legs. 

Still, it was a hug. Or an attempt at one. Aeduan didn't know how to feel about that. He gave his small, surprisingly affectionate guest a simple pat on her head and then got out of the apartment. 

Weirder things happened to him, but usally he could decide whether they were good or bad (and they were mostly bad). This was uncharted teritorry. 

Aeduan didn't like it one bit, but he couldn't say that he hated it, either. 

Their discussion was much like the last one, in in the sense that they got absolutely nowhere. What they needed to do was get Ryber to the Resistance headquarters. It was the only thing they all agreed on.

The number of people in the group was still undecided. Evrane said that everyone that comes that day would be included, no exceptions. Even those that weren't looking for the Resistance. Most people these days were, though.

They also saw no people on most days. That was the main problem in Evrane's plan. But no one dared question her, because it was the only thing they had, even if it might not work.

But luck had been on their side, something Aeduan hadn't been able to say in quite a while. 

Evrane had called him in the middle of a movie that his small guest insisted he watch with her. Aeduan couldn't remember when was the last time he even turned the TV on. Possibly a sleepless night, and that was if he ever did turn it on.

Aeduan didn't want to disappoint the kid, but this was much more important. He still gave in when she asked him to promise they'd watch the full movie one time.

Evrane didn't usually announce every person that came looking for help, but this was just what they were waiting for. Five people. Four of them were likely Cartorran, since that was the language they spoke in from what Aeduan could hear. The fifth memeber of their group was a Nomatsi woman. Or at least she looked like she was, though Aeduan didn't get a good enough look at her to tell for sure. 

That made the group a bigger one, with ten members excluding Aeduan and Lizl. 

Apparently one of them had equally important information as Ryber's for someone that the Resistance should help them reach. Aeduan had heard that one a thousand times. It was usually the go-to response of those who were told they'd have to wait longer than a week. 

Aeduan still hadn't worked out a proper response to it. He just let Evrane deal with it, and if she wasn't there, explaining to people that the world didn't revolve around them became Lizl's job. She did it with much more yelling than Evrane, but it was just as effective. 

The other four, however, confirmed the importance of the information. Even after they were told they were going first thing tomorrow morning. So Evrane decided to hear them out.

It was a private conversation, and Aeduan knew he could ask about it, but he was focusing on other things. Like the fact that one of them was possibly Nomatsi. 

Evrane would see it as the perfect solution. She noted a few times that he seemed more occupied with the kid in his apartment. It would be just one more night anyway, and then they would all be on the road together. But Aeduan didn't trust a stranger to take care of his small guest all alone. Which was ridiculous, because he was a stranger to her, too. He didn't even know her name.

And even if he did, it wouldn't matter anyway. Just as Aeduan predicted, Evrane immediately decided that the kid was now this stranger's responsibility. 

He might not like it, but it was policy, so Aeduan moved past it. He had other things to focus on. 

Evrane called in another meeting, this time without Ryber. She told Aeduan and Lizl that one of the cartorrans had documents with proof of Henrick fon Cartorra's involvement in the whole situation.

It confirmed what everybody already suspected: those things were once human.

Aeduan accepted it long ago, before it was a fact, but that didn't make it any less surreal. Evrane showed them one of the documents. A contract. It was vague, vague enough that somebody from a decade ago would have thought it a simple business transaction.

But it was obvious what "a project that would change the world forever" was. 

Aeduan wasn't familiar with the other name signed at the bottom. Neither were Evrane or Lizl. 

That other person was responsible for everything. Henrick just gave them the space and people for their experiments. And when the time came, he collected money by offering shelter from the nigtmare he helped create.

It was a clever plan. Despicable, but clever. 

"What do you want us to do about it?," Lizl asked. 

"I want you to be careful. We don't know if Henrick noticed that this contract is missing from his office." Being careful was one of the main requirements in their line of work, but somehow the way Evrane said it made it sound oddly unprofessional. 

Perhaps it was because she didn't say it all that often. But it meant nothing still. Of course she'd put an emphasis on being careful, now that they had double the table-turning information. 

"That's it?," Aeduan asked. Evrane usually had elaborate plans for shopping for necessities. Something so simple, something that felt more like advice than an instruction, didn't sound natural coming from her.

"That's it." When Lizl opened her mouth to protest, Evrane added,"I'm just as confused as you are. This all is certainly on a whole another level."

"Still, you must have something more for us than 'be careful'."

"I wish I did," Evrane said. It sounded too strange for Aeduan's liking. But Evrane was just human, like all of them. And if they couldn't come up with anything, expecting it of her would be unjust. 

So they let it go. 

By the time Aeduan got back to his apartment, the kid was already asleep, this time on the couch. He moved her to the bed, even if it wasn't much more comfortable. 

He also noticed that there was a plate set for him with what he assumed was his small guest's attempt at making soup. There was even a spoon next to the plate. 

Aeduan wasn't hungry, and even if he was, he probably wouldn't have eaten whatever was in the plate. But he was oddly glad that she thought of him.

Aeduan knew he should probably call the newcomer. Evrane said she already told her that the kid would be her responsibility. But it would be just one night, and if the woman forgot, there was no reason to wake the kid. 

But she hadn't forgotten. It wasn't too late, but it was after curfew. That didn't matter in a building, but Aeduan didn't expect somebody to knock on his door at around midnight. 

He actually turned the TV on that night. There wasn't anything too interesting. News, that reported about anything but the actual news. A few kids channels. Some music ones. And then there were others with varying content.

The one Aeduan had on was full of mediocre movies. He didn't pay attention to what he was watching, but he was still startled when he heard the knocking. 

It wasn't Evrane. It might have been Lizl, if she broke the habit of lockpicking instead of knocking, which was not likely. 

Aeduan was surprised to see the Nomatsi woman standing there with her blonde friend. Evrane mentioned that two of them knew Nomatsi, but he only expected one person to come for the kid.

She didn't throw a tantrum, or even disagree with anything for the past few days. Neither did she when Aeduan woke her up. But the moment she saw the two women in the doorway, his small guest started crying. 

At first it was silent tears, but as the blonde crouched and introduced herself, explaining that "my friend Iseult and I are going to take care of you for the night" the screaming began.

"I'm sure it's fine," the other one said. She was looking at the kid like she'd never seen one before. "That's what kids do, right?"

It didn't feel rhetorical, but Aeduan couldn't answer the question either way, so he acted like it was. 

Eventually the kid stopped screaming. She had nothing of her own that she could bring, other than the clothes he bought her. The two women asked about it, asked her name, but she didn't say anything.

Aeduan thought it was only fair that they knew no more than he did. They left soon, leaving Aeduan with just the movie playing in the living room. 

He caught himself looking into the hall a few times during the night. He left the door to the bedroom open just as he had last night. And even though there was no reason for it now that his small guest was away, Aeduan couldn't find it in himself to actually close the door.

It couldn't have been more than an hour when he heard knocking again. At first he didn't think anything of it, even considered ignoring the knocking alltogether. It was probably someone complaining about the noise from before. 

But the knocking didn't stop, so Aeduan was forced to go check it out. He was more than a little intrigued when he saw that it was one of the women from before, with his small guest by her side.

Aeduan knew that the knocking was too strong to be a kid's, and yet he couldn't help but imagine that she was the one dragging the adult there. 

"We're sorry to wake you," the woman started. Then, she turned to look at the kid with what wasn't quite a glare, but definitely an unpleased look on her face. " _I'm_ sorry to wake you, especially in this hour. But she just wouldn't stop acting like - like she's an immature child."

"She is an immature child."

"She doesn't have to act like it," the woman muttered to herself. Aeduan had never seen anyone feel so strongly about a literal child doing nothing else but acting like a child. He knew about the mean neighbourhood lady archetype, but he always assumed it was just that - an archetype. He could definitely see the woman in front of him popping balloons and stealing balls that went into her yard, though. 

But regardless of that, she was right. The kid didn't have to act like it. She never did in the two days she was with Aeduan. 

Maybe that was the problem. Or maybe she just didn't like being woken up in the middle of the night.

Aeduan knew that wasn't the case, but it was much easier to pretend that it was. He didn't have a lot of experience with kids, especially ones her age, but he could tell that his small guest wasn't exactly the norm.

And he could also tell that the stranger, who was now subtly glaring at the kid, didn't have a lot of experience either. Possibly even less than Aeduan himself, which was hard to achieve. 

His small guest, however, seemed very pleased with herself. Aeduan couldn't see what she had against the woman, other than her not being the best at taking care of children.

But she shouldn't have to do that in the middle of the night. Aeduan found it hard to believe that the kid couldn't sleep. And even if she couldn't, why would she just suddenly start being a nightmare? There had to be more to it than that. 

But Aeduan was tired, and he could tell that the other two were as well. So he offered to take the kid for the night. It was simply easier. And they'd all be on the road together come morning. One night didn't change anything.

Aeduan didn't know why Evrane thought it would. Sure, he didn't appreciate having to share his personal space, but it wasn't the worst arrangement. And it was just two days and two nights. 

Apparently that was enough for the kid to get attached. She walked to the bedroom on her own, now smiling. Aeduan couldn't even begin to guess why, but she most likely made a scene with the woman just to get back to his apartment. It was strange, and somehow at the same time endearing. 

Aeduan was tired, too tired to deal with this child who was so attached to him all of a sudden. Too tired to even process it. 

But his small guest didn't seem to care. Aeduan found himself tucking her in, which seemed so absurd. He didn't usually sleep under covers himself, even when it was cold. Yet here he was, making every accommodation possible for this strange child. 

It would all end tomorrow. They'd be in the same group, of course, but she was officially not his problem anymore. 

And after that, she'd probably go with the two women wherever they planned on going. Aeduan couldn't help but wonder what they planned to do with the information they had.

He could definitely ask tomorrow, but Lizl would probably beat him to it. Repeating questions was never his favourite thing to do, and she would never tell him what answer she got.

But he could worry about that in the morning. Or, well, later in the morning. The night was far from over, though, even if it had been past midnight. Just as Aeduan was about to leave, his small guest grabbed his arm.

He could still leave, but that would be just cruel to the kid. So he turned around to see her looking up at him, her eyes wide. She didn't seem at all tired. Aeduan couldn't relate, but he swallowed all the fatigue plaguing him. 

He nodded at her, as if to ask what she meant.

That was how they communicated. She said a few words every now and then. Most of the time they weren't full sentences, but it got the point across. And sometimes it would just be vague gestures and sounds of confirmation or denial.

This time, though, she spoke. 

"Story?," she asked, her voice soft. It wasn't a full sentence, but Aeduan understood what she meant. 

And because he wasn't going to get any sleep anyway, Aeduan sat on the edge of the bed and talked until there was no sound other than his voice and light breathing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait guys!!! But this one is 2000 longer than the usual chapters. Hope that makes up for it.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just as the group is ready to go, something happens that puts them off their path. Literally.

It was too early in the morning to be walking. Too early in the morning to be awake.

Even if Safi had gotten full eight hours of sleep - which she hadn't, thanks to that demon child - she would still find it inhumane. 

Last night was an adventure to say the least. Safi never considered herself particularly good with kids, but she was the best caretaker ever compared to Iseult.

And yet the two of them couldn't calm that kid with joint forces. It just wasn't fair. They were supposed to sleep that night, prepare for the journey. Safi was only half joking about making Iseult sleep earlier that day. It might have happened if they didn't have to deal with a small hurricane in their room. 

Safi didn't want to be separated from Iseult too long, and especially when she learned that her friend would have to take care of a kid for the night. 

It was common knowledge that Iseult shouldn't be trusted with kids, at least not when she was alone. She couldn't even take care of herself properly, for crying out loud. And yet they trusted her with a child. A nightmare of a child on top of that. If Safi wasn't there, something would probably have ended up on fire. Which was weird, because Safi was usually the one accidentally setting fires. 

But in the end they returned the kid to her original guardian, which was for the best. Safi got a headache just listening to Iseult yell at her in an attempt of disciplining the tiny demon. It sounded too much like somebody arguing with a dog and losing that Safi couldn't hande it anymore.

She insisted that the kid was technically Iseult's problem and sent her to return the kid. It was purely so she could get a headstart on sleeping. 

She noticed her mistake in the morning when she realised there was no one to make sure Iseult slept, too. 

But Iz didn't seem at all tired. It was as if she was the one who slept actually slept.

"My legs are going to fall off," Safi said, to no one in particular. She wasn't really expecting an answer. Well, nothing more than an eyeroll, and she got one of those.

"That was two staircases, Saf. Seven stairs each," Iseult said. Safi was well aware that her best friend found counting relaxing. She had no idea what there was to make her nervous so early in the morning.

"But together that's...two times seven." Iseult raised her eyebrow. Safi did not appreciate it.

And besides, there were many more flights of stairs until they were outside of the building. Well, two. But that would make it four times seven. Which was...a lot. 

What was even worse than waking up at six was the fact that they hadn't. There was nobody else in front of the building, where they were all supposed to meet. When Safi asked about it, Iseult just said that they were early. 

Early. To a six AM meet up. Safi loved her best friend more than anything else in the world, but all the forces in the universe were testing her in that moment.

To make the matters worse, Iseult refused to tell her just how early they actually were. Safi didn't know how much they would have to wait. And all the waiting would be done outside, where there were no benches or any other things to sit on. There wasn't even a fence.

Just an abnormaly big garden in front of the building. Iseult said that people were required to grow food, which they then gave away monthly. Sort of a paying back to the community thing. It made no sense. Safi wasn't even sure if those things ate.

Eventually other people came down. Some of them weren't in their group, which made Safi a bit thankful for that awful grey building. Sure, she was slowly going insane in there, but at least she wasn't up and about before six AM.

It didn't seem to be a problem for Iseult. Or anyone else, really. Caden, Zander and Lev came down in a bit, and so did other people that would travel with them.

Only one other person was complaining about it being too early, but he got shut down by one of their guides. Not the one that handled the demon child, but the other one. 

Safi didn't want to get on her bad side. At least not immediately. Getting yelled at was nothing new, but loud noises at six AM were far from Safi's favourite thing.

Eventually there were eleven people outside. That seemed like more than enough if they wanted to be subtle, but Safi was new to all this secret stuff. For all she knew they had secret underground passages to the Resistance.

Safi insisted that she didn't need to go there, but that was no use. Apparently information that somebody else had was more important than hers. Safi couldn't argue with that, but she couldn't agree, either. It wasn't like she was told much. Just that she was free to go wherever _from_ the Resistance, but that she had to get there with the group first. 

The silver haired woman, whose name Safi forgot again, didn't leave much room for argument. But then again, Safi was Safi. She insisted that she wouldn't take a stranger's word over her uncle's, and that the Resistance couldn't possibly be more trustworthy than people she already knew.

Safi lied about that first part. She might have believed her uncle enough to trust that the documents she carried weren't fake, but that didn't mean she forgot every other time he lied to her. 

And she was very right about the second part. The woman said that there were few people in the Resistance that were actually trustworthy. That the leaders were some of the least honest people she knew, and that it wouldn't do well to even let on that she was hiding something from them.

Safi noted that the woman knew them, so that made her words worth something. But there were two sides to every story, and both her network and the Resistance seemed good from the outside. 

Iseult said that they'd just have to wait and see. Safi told her that she was overestimating her patience.

And so was waiting in front of the building. One person was missing, if their guides were to believe. Safi wasn't sure she trusted them completely, but she also didn't expect one of those frozen faced monsters to come out of the door, either.

So she waited. They all did. In the end, it was the one of the guides who said they should go and that the one who was late just had to try and follow them or go with another group.

The other one agreed with him, even though everybody but the two of them said it wasn't okay to just leave someone behind. "It's policy, anyway." The first guide said, even though she already got her way. "We waited for over fifteen minutes, and that sets us back for...for over fifteen minutes. Which is usually not okay, but since this is an urgent journey, it'd create a catastrophe."

And so they left. It was almost relaxing to leave the town and be back in a forest. The path they were taking wasn't marked, but it was a paved path. That was always better than nothing.

Maybe an hour into their journey, someone yelled to wait. Safi was prepared for the possiblity of it being a something, too.

But the person who showed up was even worse than one of those creatures.

Safi expected someone to go after her. Her uncle said Henrick wouldn't noitce, but Safi knew that was bullshit from the start. It was one of those things she was sure he lied about just to get her to go. 

What she hadn't expected, though, was for that person to be Henrick's own nephew. It made sense, in a way. Leopold always knew more than he let on. At least Eron said so a few times, and though Safi hadn't believed it back then, it seemed more than plausible in that moment. 

Under any other circumstances, Safi would have been glad to see her old friend. He never stuck to one place too often. No, Leopold would go from building to building and stay as long as he liked.

Being Henrick's nephew, nobody could stop him. Except Henrick himself, but that would be admitting that he already made a mistake by giving Leopold too much freedom.

And admitting mistakes just wasn't a thing Henrick did. 

Safi thought sending Leopold alone was a mistake as well. She was pretty sure their guides knew about the contract, and so did her friends. All she needed to do was say something. Tell them who Leopold was.

But that wasn't necessary, apparently.

Before Safi could even think of what to say, Lev pointed a knife at Leopold, who was getting closer and closer every second.

She didn't expect anyone else to recognise him, which was more than a little stupid. Caden, Zander and Lev spent the past four years as Henrick's guards. They had to know Leopold. 

Safi only worried that he would know them, too. They were risking everything by helping her, and she really didn't want them to have to be left with nothing

It wasn't a very good way to seem innocent, but Safi supposed it didn't really matter, as Leopold already knew. It was, however, very effective. 

Leopold stopped walking towards them and put his hands up in surrender. But the whole time there was a small smile on his face. 

It made Safi uneasy. It was just like that moment in the movie when something was behind the unsuspecting characters. Realistically, she knew it wasn't the case. Somebody would have noticed by now. But she couldn't help it. Safi turned around. 

There was no monster behind her. No burning building or natural catastrophe. All she saw were confused faces. Iseult was now right beside her, as if to offer support. Her other friends were in the process of threatening Leopold with what weapons they had left from battling that horrid creature in the woods. 

That demonic kid didn't look at all scared. The guide who was supposed to care for her tried covering her eyes, but the kid just removed his hand.

It just made Safi's theory of her being an actual creature of Hell more plausible. 

The other guide caught Safi's eye. She had just finished yelling at someone for complaining, but it likely wasn't voluntarily. She still had that frustrated look in her eyes.

She opened her mouth, most likely to yell again, but Leopold beat her to it. 

"I did absolutely nothing to deserve this," he said. Safi turned around again. Caden, Zander and Lev had four sharp weapons between themselves. Lev was holding two of them.

"Not yet."

"Will you just hear me out?" Safi didn't like the way he made it sound like a misunderstanding. She and Leopold were friends for a long time, but he was still Henrick's nephew. Not that she was precisely against Henrick before, just like she wasn't against Leopold.

The information she had changed everything. Safi wouldn't call herself paranoid. Just the right amount of suspicious. 

But the promise of an explanation seemed to be good enough for Iseult. She tapped Safi on the shoulder, still looking at the scene in front of them. "Let him talk, Saf."

She definitely didn't want to, but Caden lowered his sword already. "Thank you very much."

Safi absolutely hated how he spoke like it was a normal conversation. It really, really wasn't.

"Now, I don't know what you think I'm here for." Caden returned his sword to where it was before. "All right, okay, I know what you think I'm here for. But it's not true!"

"That's not a very compelling argument," Iseult said. Safi had to admire how much faith her best friend had in her to stand on her side with no context.

"That's a good point. But I can't possibly tell you all of it in such an unfriendly atmosphere." Then Leopold had the nerve to actually try and lower one of Lev's weapons with his hand. His palm was bloody in a second. "That was just unnecessary. I don't feel really safe right now."

"Good."

"That's harsh." Safi was entirely unimpressed by his answer. It must've shown on her face, because a moment later Leopld started talking. "All right, fine. I see a diplomatic approach doesn't work here. I'll let you threaten me all you want, but you have to know that I-".

"Who is this guy, anyway?," someone from the group said, cutting Leopold off. And just when Safi was finally about to recieve some well deserved answers.

She turned around to see the man that prompted the longest yelling match she had ever heard for the most pointless reason she had ever heard. That didn't surprise her too much.

At first she just thought the guide was easily frustrated, but one sentence and Safi herself saw how irritating he was. She could see why the yelling started. Hell, she could start yelling. Thankfully there was need for that, because the guide once again filled in . "Just shut up," she said, much calmer this time. 

Safi turned to Leopold once again. He was looking at his hand. Not in shock or pain. Just something that seemed like disappointment. As if people cut his hand on a daily basis.

"Go on," Safi said.

So Leopold jumped back into his story. "I'm not here because my uncle asked me to come. I don't even know what you're doing. But you're clearly doing something, and the whole cover story with moving...that was really easy to see through, Safiya."

Safi suddenly wished Lev did much more than just cut his hand. "Okay, fine, _I'm_ doing something I shouldn't. What about you?"

"I'm here to help."

Safi scoffed. 

"It's true! How do you think Eron knew what to look for?" Now, that got everyone's attention. Leopold continued. "My uncle has a dozen contracts and maps. They'd need days to find the actually incriminating ones without help."

Before Safi could even process what he was saying, she got bombarded with questions.

Not everyone was speaking, but those who did all spoke at once. There was Caden, asking if they should believe him. And the guides who already pieced together just who Leopold's uncle was.

Thankfully Safi didn't have to suffer because Iseult was there. She missed having the voice of reason by her side. "Let's just go, and Safi can answer your questions along the way."

Safi had to answer a lot of questions along the way. 

The guides came first, asking why they were even supposed to trust Leopold. Every answer Safi gave wasn't satisfactory to at least one of them. And while they were interogating her, Iseult had to deal with the demon child once again. 

It would be funny if it wasn't just sad. Safi never saw her best friend as frustrated as she was in that moment. That was telling.

The kid wasn't throwing tantrums now. She wasn't doing _anything_ , actually. Just ignoring every one of Iseult's (horrible) attempts at starting a conversation.

That in itself wasn't too bad, but the one time she did say something back was apparently...not good. Safi was too far away to hear it, but Iseult looked outraged. 

She came to rant about it as soon as the interrogation was over. Safi was more than happy to hear it. Iseult rarely ever got this mad, and seeing her like that was interesting, if a bit terrifying. Most of the time it was also hilarious. 

But before Iseult got a chance to tell Safi what happened, Leopold approached them. 

"We're in the middle of something," Safi said. She knew he wouldn't take it seriously, but it was worth a shot. 

"But we're close to one of the facilites my uncle equipped for making these things. You might want to see it."

Iseult did not. She said she didn't want to do anything more than get the documents to where she needed to and get this nightmare over with.

Safi herself found the idea exciting. She trusted Iseult's judgement, though.

But the yelling guide overheard, and she seemed to thing it was a great idea. "When will we ever get a chance like this again?," she said, "We need to go."

Her coworker wasn't as enthusiastic about the idea, but he didn't disagree much. He just reminded her that "Evrane wouldn't want us to", which made it sound like she was their mother rather than their boss.

But apparently they didn't listen to her that often anyway, because the first guide just laughed at him. "Lead the way," she told Leopold. 

And Leopold looked more than happy to. "Are we sure this isn't a trap?," Iseult asked, at least three times. It fell on deaf ears, but she tried once again. Then she was told that she worried too much.

Leopold was closely followed by both guides. For people who said they didn't believe it was a trap, they were acting way too suspicious.

Safi was all in for the adventure, but Iseult didn't like that they were straying off the path. She was constantly looking behind her back, and into the forest.

Safi could hardly blame her. Somebody had to be sensible and look out for the group. She just hated that that somebody had to be her best friend.

They still had so much catching up to do, but they couldn't very well talk about that when Iz was acting so damn paranoid.

Safi knew it was reasonable, but nobody else was worrying as much. And besides, there were people in their group who were experienced fighters. It should have been them worrying, not Iz. Because Safi was sure she would throw them in front of those things if she ever saw them.

"This is not a good idea," Iseult said. Safi didn't agree. So far they hadn't found even a marked path. Leopold said that nobody but the people working in the facilities (and him, apparently) knew their locations. 

So they wouldn't be expecting them. 

The closer they got, the more worried Iz was. That wasn't usually a good sign. Safi hated seeing her best friend upset, for one. And Iseult, though mostly the more pessimistic of the two of them, was better at seeing things objectively than Safi ever was. It was clear as day that Iz was the voice of reason in their friendship.

And in the group, too, apparently. Nobody else seemed to mind. Especially the guides. Well, one of them surely seemed more enthusiastic about it than the other, but he did nothing to stop her.

Their three new friends were talking between themselves, laughing as if they weren't about to enter a life changing situation. 

The other people in their group were mostly the same. Excluding, of course, whoever kept repeating "we're walking into a trap" every two minutes. 

By the time they stopped, hunger was catching up to Safi. She knew they had food, because she personally packed some and saw Iseult pack hers, too. But it just didn't feel right to eat in such a terrifying but exciting moment. 

"The building where they do...well, you know," Leopold started, making a vague hand gesture that was apparently supposed to represent ruining the world as they knew it, "is ten minutes away, give or take. We could go all the way, or we-"

"We're going all the way," one of the guides announced. But the other one protested before Leopold could even nod.

"We can't. Not now. Reaching the Resistance is far more important right now." 

Safi had no idea whose side to be on. On one hand, getting to a safe place was probably the better option. But on the other hand, an adventure like this was much more tempting. 

"Oh, just go ahead and say you're a coward." 

That was the last audible thing they heard before the two guides started arguing between themselves. It went quietly, except for the occasional making-a-point shouting. For someone like Safi, who was nosy by nature, the urge to get closer and listen to the argument was enormous.

Iseult was shaking her head the whole time. 

"It's not _that_ bad, Iz," Safi said, trying to reassure her friend. But it didn't work. 

So Safi resorted to the less traditional way of making people feel better about being close to what could be death if they were caught: jokes.

Now, they weren't intelligent jokes, or layered ones. No word play, because acorrding to Iseult, puns didn't count as such. Safi personally disagreed, but she never won any of their petry arguments. 

But however senseless Iseult considered it to be, it still made her laugh. Safi took that as a win. 

While she got Iseult to relax, the guides resolved their argument. They would be going to the Resistance as planned, and then the two of them would inspect the building on their way back.

Safi was more than a little disappointed. Leopold mentioned how there were many failed experiments they let run around the forest. She was hoping to see at least one. But that wasn't going to happen, apparently, because they were in a hurry all of a sudden.

She really didn't get it. They had all the time in the world when it came to an unnecessary argument, but her not getting up immediately was treated as a crime. 

Everyone was ready to go within five minutes. That was the power of yelling and...yelling. Those guides really had issues.

They almost went back to the path they were on when somebody in the front just stopped. It was one of the three people Safi didn't know. At first it was a bit irritating to see her turn around in a full circle, as they were behind her and everyone else was already by far in front of them.

But then the woman asked where the kid was, and Safi never felt dumber in her life. 

They lost a kid.

They took a kid into a forest near some evil genius' laboratory and lost her in there. A kid. A tiny person. No matter how demonic, she was made of actual flesh and bone.

"We lost a kid, Iz." 

Iseult didn't seem too worried. "Kids climb trees and...things. It's normal."

Safi knew her best friend was hopeless, but she wasn't expecting that. "Leopold said there are some dangerous creatures in this forest. And we left them a nice meaty little offering."

"Just say kid, please," Iseult said. She seemed too unbothered with this situation for Safi's liking.

But before she dealt with Iseult, she had to alert the rest of the group. They were already far in front of them, so Safi resorted to just shouting "we lost a kid". It worked surprisingly well.

The whole group turned around, most of them being as mortified as Safi, and absolutely none as stone cold as Iseult. 

Everyone was back at the little clearing in no time, but there was no sign of the child. Iseult still didn't look particularly bothered by it. If Safi didn't make her, she doubted Iseult would even be searching for the small demon.

Safi didn't know how much time had passed. Eventually people went to look deeper into the forest, and only Safi and Iseult were on the clearing, Safi because she already looked elsewhere and hoped the kid would return there, and Iseult because she was convinced the little demon was just hiding somewhere and laughing at them. That prompted her to climb a few trees and look through every bush.

She still seemed more annoyed that she had to look for the kid than scared that the small demon disappeared. But she was still helping, so Safi didn't want to argue with her for no reason. 

There was rustling near them, but neither Safi or Iseult really paid attention to it. The rest of their group passed through often enough, saying that they had no luck either.

But this time it wasn't that. 

Safi turned towards the noise when she didn't hear any words. She saw the kid standing there, smiling, and...

"What is that?," Iseult asked.

Safi didn't know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit I am so sorry. It's been nearly a month. Three weeks. I needed three weeks to write four thousand words...I can't. Sorry. I'll make sure the next chapter is out much quicker.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one is mostly just reactions to Blueberry pt. 1

They lost the kid.

Aeduan tried to blame the Nomatsi woman, at least internally, but he couldn't do it. Because even if the kid was technically her responsibility, Aeduan got attached to her right away.

And knowing that she was lost in a forest where unnatural creatures roamed was just about the worst possible outcome. 

Aeduan thought it couldn't possinly be worse, but the universe had the habit of always proving him wrong about that. 

Leopold fon Cartorra said that those things wouldn't harm if not provoked. But if the kid had found the facility where those things were made, they had an even bigger problem on their hands.

So Leopold offered to take him to the building itself, and fool that he was, Aeduan accepted. It didn't take a lot to convince Lizl to go with them. She wanted to see the facility from the beggining. 

Aeduan told her it was a reckless decision, and that just her going could endanger all of them. That very argument resulted in a child going missing, and now there were three of them, hiding on the side of the forest that the cameras didn't look at, according to Leopold. 

It was Aeduan's fault that the kid got lost, and Lizl made sure to rub it in. He knew that the kid couldn't understand them. He also knew that the Nomatsi woman got fed up of babysitting, because she quite literally told him she was giving up. She surely wouldn't have translated it for her. 

And really, it was natural for a child to run towards a building, even if it was completely new to them. Especially when It wasn't all that different from the one she stayed in for the past few days.

Leopold said that, if they rushed, they could find her. Aeduan didn't trust him yet, at least not completely, but he wanted to believe that it was true. It wasn't all that unlikely. He couldn't deny that Leopold knew things that he himself didn't and had no means of finding out about. That didn't mean he liked having to listen to him.

Aeduan could tell Lizl felt the same. She probably found it all the more frustrating, though. She was never a follower.

But it was their only chance to save the kid if she had indeed gotten caught, and they couldn't let pride ruin it. 

"If they took the kid, where would they be keeping her?" It was the logical first question to ask, of course, but Aeduan didn't like the implication that they had the kid. 

Whoever was responsible for making the world like it currently was wouldn't show mercy to a child. Especially when she was so far away from any city. Especially when she was alone. 

That was terrifyingly similiar to how Evrane found him years ago, but that was different in so many ways. The most obvious was that Evrane wasn't a creator of murderous nightmare creatures. 

Aeduan couldn't even imagine what they would do to a child. Now that he knew that all those creatures were once human, he tried to remember if he ever saw one that looked like a child.

Leopold told them that the few times someone stumbled upon one of the facilities, which unsurprisingly didn't happen all too often, they were turned into one of those monsters. 

Were they monsters if what was underneath was undeniably human? Aeduan didn't know. But he did know that whoever was responsible for it was a monster, even though they were most likely still only flesh and bone. 

Aeduan wanted to ask if they would do the same to a kid, but that was beyond stupid. So instead he asked Leopold how long it would take for them to do that to a kid. 

Leopold didn't have an answer. Aeduan didn't know why he expected him to, and he didn't know why he got frustrated when he wasn't presented with an easy solution for their problem. 

"We have to go in, then," Lizl said, "it's quite literally now or never. Who knows what will happen to the rest of us if the kid talks."

Aeduan wondered if she knew how ironic her statement was, considering how little the girl talked. 

But he knew better than anyone that people who really wanted to know something didn't stop because of morals. All that could get overwhelming for a kid, and, honestly, Aeduan wouldn't blame her if she told them everything.

And maybe half-life was easier. He thought about it from time to time, but now that they had actual confirmation that all those creatures were once just people, the thought plagued the back of his mind constantly.

But there was no time for it now. They searched the whole forest already, and the only place where the kid could be was right in front of them. And it was very dangerous, if Leopold was to be trusted, which, despite his better judgement, Aeduan did.

So he agreed with Lizl, their argument long forgotten. The circumstances weren't the same as before, after all. And Lizl was right. If the kid really was caught, she could give the whole network away. They could not afford that.

Leopold was going to stay behind, which was for the best. He didn't even try to argue with it, making Aeduan worry just a little bit more.

He reasoned with himself, of course. It might have been more dangerous than they expected, but it was most likely not. Leopold was just a coward. He knew what his uncle was up to, but instead of doing something about it, he told other people and let them handle it.

His change of heart meant absolutely nothing to Aeduan. Leopold was at least half responsible for the kid's disappearance, with how he insisted that they go see the facility. 

Not as much as Lizl, of course, but she was never going to drag other people into it. Much less a child. Her plan was for everyone else to wait while the two of them went to...Aeduan didn't even know what she planned to do once they were inside. He supposed it didn't really matter. They had a plan now.

Get in, find the kid, get out before anyone (or anything) sees. 

It was hardly doable without at least a few bodies hitting the floor, which would definitely alert the other people inside. But if they were fast enough - and they couldn't afford not to be - they could get out before anybody noticed them. 

The security wasn't high, according to Leopold. They didn't expect anyone to just sumble across the facility, and if they did, they wouldn't live long enough to tell the tale. Or, at the very least, they wouldn't be capable of doing so.

There was nothing except cameras outside. Aeduan expected at least a couple of guards. Leopold assured them that they didn't find it to be necessary. People inside those buildings were getting more and more relaxed as time passed.

Aeduan supposed that was a good thing for them, if it was true. But he didn't buy it for a second. 

"It's a forest like any other," he said, "why wouldn't they send patrols outside?"

"Well, they do." Lizl looked just about ready to murder Leopold as he said that. "That's why we're hiding, isn't it? But they never go far. The others are safe."

Suddenly Aeduan was more aware of every little sound. Even though the occasional cracking among the bushes was most probably nothing, Aeduan could hardly ignore it. 

"The others are looking through the entire forest for the kid!," Lizl shouted. It wasn't what Aeduan himself would do if he found out people might exit the building and hear them, but he let her speak as loudly as she wished. There was no compromising with her when she was mad. And Aeduan did not want to compromise with her. If anyone deserved to be yelled at, it was Leopold. "It's much more likely that they will get caught than that they will not!"

Leopold had the audacity to look down as Lizl continued her shouting. It didn't last as long as it usually did, which was surprising, because this was the first time she had a valid reason for her anger in months. 

But they didn't have a lot of time, and Aeduan assumed that they heard the noises around them too. Lizl found enough self-control to stop yelling. She told Leopold to go find the others, and tell them to get as far away from the facility as they could. 

Just as they were about to separate, Leopold going to find the rest of the group, and Aeduan and Lizl going to find the kid, there was that noise in the bushes behind them again, now louder than before. 

Aeduan was ready to attack, but before he could even turn around, Leopold was talking. 

"Iseult? What are you doing here?"

Aeduan had the same question in mind, but they didn't need to ask twice. The Nomatsi woman, Iseult, looked a little out of breath, but she still answered right away.

"We found that demonic kid." Aeduan didn't agree with the word choice, but it wasn't the time to interrupt. "Or rather, she found us. And something else."

"What else?," Lizl asked.

"It's best you go see it yourselves. You won't believe me if I tell you."

Aeduan didn't appreciate the lack of answers, but he was still relieved that the little girl was safe. That was the only thing that mattered in that moment. 

Still, Aeduan wondered what it was that would be so unbelievable, and if it was really worrying enough for her to run.

Leopold didn't seem at all concerned. If anything, he lookee like he was expecting things to go this way. It really irritated Aeduan.

So did following someone without knowing what to expect. When he asked if the kid was fine, he was met with a scoff and a very irritated: "She looks to be having the time of her life giving us all heart attacks."

Aeduan thought it was rather ironic, considering how she didn't seem at all concerned when they realised that they had lost a child, but he didn't say it out loud.

By the time they made it to the clearing where they started the search, everyone else was already there. They were all looking up. 

Aeduan did the same, and was met with the most bizarre creature he had ever seen. It looked like something out of a dream. 

Upon closer look, the thing resembled a twisted bat much bigger than bats ought to be. Much, much bigger. It landed loudly, almost ending up on top of the kid. 

Aeduan didn't know what kind of reaction he expected, but it most certainly was not laughter. Maybe Iseult was right. 

"Oh, it's one of _those_ things," Leopold said, "I thought most of them were gone. I haven't seen one in years."

Aeduan wanted nothing more than to punch him for that remark. He was positive that there were only a few people worse than him, and Leopold was definitely one of those. 

Because, as horrible as some of the things Aeduan did were, that one thing outdid them all. Leopold knew about this for years, yet he was only doing something now.

Aeduan looked to his right, where Lizl was just a moment ago, to see her reaction. But she was approaching the creature. Not slowly, either.

Everyone except for the kid seemed to steer clear of it. Aeduan could hardly blame them. The thing looked dangerous. The thing _was_ dangerous, if only because it could alert people in the facility to somebody being in the forest when they shouldn't be. 

And Aeduan had a feeling that it wasn't the only thing that made it a threat. Seeing the way it curled up around the kid, who was now beaming and petting the creature as if it was an everyday pet, didn't help at all. 

"Lizl, stop. That creature is dangerous."

"So am I," she responded. Aeduan didn't know why he even bothered. 

Lizl got closer to the bizarre thing and the overjoyed kid. The closer she got, the more worried Aeduan was. Which was unreasonable, he knew. If the creature wanted to do something to the child, it already would have. She was hardly ready to defend herself.

Lizl got to the thing. It didn't attack her either. She put her hands on it, and the creature let out a weird sound. It didn't sound like a battle cry, at least, but Aeduan had no idea what else it could've been. 

"What even is that thing?," he asked. 

Leopold waited for a moment before answering, like he was looking for a good way to phrase it. 

He did not find it.

"It's one of the rougher first drafts." At the questioning looks, he added, "before they even thought about experimenting on humans, it was just regular animals. Some of those first attempts failed spectacularly. And others, like this one, were a huge success...until they weren't."

Aeduan was debating just letting the thing, whatever it was, eat Leopold, because they didn't seem to be getting any actual information out of his "answers". 

Before he could, though, the kid ran away from the creature, and deeper into the forest. Lizl didn't even flinch. She was now petting the huge thing as if it was a house cat. That eased Aeduan's worries only slightly. 

Maybe nothing happened. Then again, maybe Lizl just didn't see it happen. Maybe that was why she wasn't panicking. 

But then the kid returned, her hands filled with...bluberries?

She grinned as the creature devoured them and let out another sound. It seemed to be a good thing when it did that. 

"Can we keep it?," the kid asked, still smiling. 

"Absolutely not. No way. It's obviously dangerous," Iseult said. She got closer to the middle of the clearing a bit after Lizl did. "You're lucky it didn't bite your whole hand off."

She tried to pull the kid away from the creature, but it wasn't working. "I wasn't asking _you."_

Then, she turned to Aeduan. "Please?"

He knew that the thing could have been dangerous, but it didn't look it in that moment. They still had to think about later, though.

"We'll see." That seemed to be enough for the kid. 

But what pleased her made everyone else mad.

Iseult was the first to speak up. "You cannot be serious." 

The others backed her up. "It's not just your decision to make," someone said.

Aeduan never said it was. He specifically said "we". He couldn't remember the last time he even said that in the context of being willing to listen to other people's opinions.

He supposed that didn't matter. The only thing the others understood was Iseult's response, which made it sound like he said they would keep the monster as a pet.

"What if that thing has some sort of camera attached to it?," Evrane's nephew asked, "it would give us and the whole Resistance away. We can't risk it."

"It can't possibly." It was the first time that Aeduan was actually thankful for something Leopold said. But that didn't mean it made any more sense than all the other delusional conclusions he'd brought upon them that day.

"It seems very possible to me," Aeduan said. He was glad they were talking in a language the kid didn't understand. Too much had already happened that day, and he didn't want to add breaking a small child's heart to the list. He just hoped Leopold had an actual good argument this time.

"These things," Leopold started. Aeduan sighed in relief. He half expected the creature to have a name and detailed lore, and they simply did not have the time to listen to all of that, "were sent here to fend for themselves until they die because they wouldn't obey orders."

Somehow that didn't help Aeduan feel better about the situation. It was just one good thing in a sea of ccatastrophes. 

"They could still be dangerous. Just look at them."

"Well, they _were_ made for killing, but they are harmless unless provoked." Aeduan wasn't sure how you could say that about a literal killing machine. Of course it would be provoked. It was an enormous flying monster. People were sure to try and attack it.

But then on the other hand, they were going through forgotten roads anyway. And having such a creature on their side couldn't be a bad thing. Aeduan said as much, and reactions were...mixed. But there was only one thing they could do.

As much as Aeduan didn't want to be responsible for a kid's sadness, he knew that bringing the creature along would only cause trouble.

And after twenty minutes of tears and Aeduan promising that if she finds another, less deadly, animal she could keep it, the kid understood that too.

And so they were on their way, leaving the bizarre thing behind. Everything was almost normal, as if they hadn't just encountered something made to terrorise humanity. Lizl was complaining about not actually getting to go inside the facility. Leopold was trying to explain to people what exactly went wrong with the first few attempts to unleash a nightmare upon the world. Aeduan heard something about hound-sized rats and kids frozen in time before he stopped listening. It sounded more like a horror story than anything.

Or at least it would have if someone else was saying it. Aeduan could not take Leopold seriously for a second. If he had to spend anymore time in his presence than it took to get to the resistance, he would probably go insane.

They all had insanity coming after what they saw, anyway. And Leopold's follow up lecture was definitely not helping. Neither were the crazy theories coming from some people. Aeduan was once again very, very glad that they were all speaking in a language that the kid didn't understand. On one hand, it would probably spare him having to tell her killing machines weren't pets. On the other hand, at least she wouldn't be subjected to all the outrageous things being said around her.

Aeduan was pretty sure he heard Evrane's nephew insist that nothing of this Earth could be so cruel as to do all this. He was also pretty sure that at least someone told him to shut up, which was the only appropriate reaction, in his opinion.

When they got back on the path they were supposed to have passed through half a day ago, Aeduan expected there to be no more distractions. But then there was rustling in the trees above, and there was the enormous creature, flying in front of them.

"Blueberry!," the kid yelled. Aeduan did not question it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a few ideas for the next chapter already, so that one should come out faster, if I don't get sucked into working on another fic. And let's face it we all know I will.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iseult is the "dad before we got a dog - dad after we got a dog" meme and Safi is a good friend

Iseult was frustrated. She knew it wasn't appropriate, and if she tried just a bit harder, she could probably hide it. 

But the problem was that she was already trying hard. It should have been easy to let it go. She was already used to not being able to make her own decisions, courtesy of being her mother's daughter. It was her fault for thinking it was going to be different once she made it out of the settlement. Setting herself up to be disappointed was quickly becoming the only thing Iseult was actually good at.

In a way, it was funny. In all the other ways, it just made her more angry. She didn't even know who she was angry at at this point. The creature didn't choose to be a target of some twisted scientific experiment. And the kid was just a kid, no matter how much Iseult didn't like her.

She thought it would all be over once they left the monster behind. The kid would probably mourn the loss of it for a few days and hopefully keep to herself instead of driving Iseult crazy. Oh, how perfect would that be.

But nothing in life is perfect. Iseult knew that, of course. It wasn't like this world let her forget it. 

Once the creature appaeared again, making it clear that it had followed them, Iseult didn't know what to think. Logically, she knew they couldn't do anything to make it stay away. But it still felt like admitting defeat. And just after she'd actually managed to get everyone to leave the thing behind.

None of them had gotten attached to it as quickly as the kid did, of course, but they didn't see it as a threat, either.

And Iseult had to admit that neither did she, at least not anymore. If the creature was going to harm them, it would have done so a long time ago. And it certainly wouldn't be so indifferent to a flower crown being put on its head.

They had taken another break, mostly for food. The excitement had kept them all on their toes earlier, but now that it was gone, hunger broke through. 

Iseult still didn't entirely trust the monster, Blueberry as the kid called it, which was why she decided to sit next to them. 

She learned quickly that it was a bad decision. Every time that the enormous thing moved, Iseult would have to as well. It kept trying to get closer to her, and Iseult had no idea why. It wasn't like she made any move towards it. 

The kid didn't like it either, apparently. She kept trying to drag her new pet away from Iseult, bribing it with various foods that she had more than likely stolen from their fellow travelers. Iseult didn't even know what some of them were. The creature ate better that half an hour that they were resting than Iseult had in the past year, and all that food still hadn't managed to keep it away from her for long. It was enough for her attention to slip for a few seconds, just enough to try and decipher what Safi was trying to say with over exaggerated hand gestures, and the thing's head was in her lap.

It displeased both Iseult and the kid, to say the least. She couldn't tell who moved faster, but the creature was a good distance away from her in a second. That was the final straw. Iseult got up and walked over to where Safi was sitting. "That kid is impossible."

She could tell Safi really wanted to laugh, but she kept it in, which Iseult greatly appreciated. She would feel bad complaining about it if Safi did laugh.

But instead her best friend just grinned, patting the ground next to her. Iseult sat down with a sigh. "Parenting is tough, huh?"

"It's not parenting," Iseult said, "it's not even remotely close to it. Parents don't hate their kids."

"Come on, you don't really hate the kid. Only monsters hate kids" Iseult couldn't tell whether Safi was insulting her or convincing her to reconsider. 

"I guess I'm a monster, then," she said.

Safi wasn't very pleased with the answer. So option B it was. "That is not what I meant and you know it. Just please try to be nicer towards the kid."

Iseult could do that, in theory. But it was so much harder in practice. Especially because the kid wasn't trying to be nice to her. It was supposed to go both ways.

"You're talking about a child. An immature child, because thar's just how children are," Safi reminded her, "and she most likely does not have family to teach her manners, so you're going to have to deal with her the best you can."

Maybe Safi's goal _was_ to make her feel bad. 

"Look, just go over there and ask her what disney movies she likes or something."

"Safi, that kid is, like, two days and an hour old." She could tell by her best friend's raised eye brow that it was possibly more than that. Regardless of that, Iseult kept going. "Not a single device capable of playing those movies has worked for four years."

It was, unfortunately, very hard to convince Safi once she made her mind up. "Okay then, ask her what her favourite barbie movie is."

"Same problem."

"Tell her a bedtime story."

Iseult thought she had to be joking at that point. "It's afternoon _and_ we're supposed to walk the whole day."

"Then just tell her a regular story!"

"Like the time you fell from a skateboard because someone good looking walked by?"

"Shut up!," Safi said, but she was laughing. And Iseult was too. It felt good to be back together again.

The laughter, however, did not last long. Safi went on with the conversation, which was just about the worst thing Iseult could think of at the time.

"You really do need to talk to the kid, Iz. Even if she's a mean kid. Especially if she's mean kid."

Iseult hated how Safi kept saying if. As if it wasn't obvious that she was right about the demon child.

But Iseult had this problem where she could never say no to Safi. Her inability to say it was the number one cause of most injuries and a few minor troubles with the law shared between the two of them. 

But Safi was right. There couldn't possibly be any harm in trying to be nice to a kid. Even if the kid did have a killing machine pet who would probably hunt Iseult down if it understood any of what she was saying to Safi about the kid being a demon.

Maybe that was pushing it. And maybe Iseult didn't actually hate her. Hate was a strong word, after all, and as Safi said, it was unreasonable to hate a child. Iseult didn't consider herself to be unreasonable. This was just a misunderstanding that she'd have to fix, if only because she didn't want to disappoint Safi. 

Iseult was going to make that child like her if it was the last thing she did. And it might very well be, because that small demon was going to be the end of her.

They only had a few more minutes before they had to start walking again, and if Iseult convinced the kid to walk with her, she'd have more than enough time to deal with her.

The guides said they wouldn't stop walking until it was dark. And even then, they'd need two more days to even be close. It sounded tiring, but it was better than staying in one place for too long. If only because Iseult had been staying still for years, and she wasn't about to continue down that path. 

No, she was going to get to the resistance, and when the time came, she was going to help Safi. Right now, though, she had to try to pretend she liked children. It was perhaps the hardest thing for her

But when she did approach the child and her new monstrous pet, Iseult realised just how impossible it was. The kid didn't even look at her twice, and the one time she did it wasn't a particularly nice look.

Iseult was already too far to give up. And besides, she promised Safi she'd do this, so she would, even if what she wanted to do was the exact opposite. 

So she sat next to the kid again, and this time didn't object when the enormous thing put its head in her lap. It was the worst feeling ever, but Iseult pushed it down with a fake smile. And then she put her hand on its head, which was almost certainly as big as two of hers would be. It was by far the worst thing she'd ever touched.

"It's...cute," she told the kid. Safi said to be nice to her, sure, but sometimes lying to people was helping them.

The small demon paid her no attention, other than another look. This time it wasn't necessarily a bad look, or at least Iseult didn't think it was. Just a questioning one. That was progress. Small, meaningless progress. But progress. Safi would be proud.

Then again, Safi was proud at her when she didn't "chicken out" of setting her mother's clothes on fire when they were children. She didn't think Gretchya knew it was the two of them that did that. And if she did, then she was way better at hiding her anger than Iseult thought. On the other hand, she never hid her disappointment, so she probably didn't know after all.

But Iseult _could_ hide it, at least long enough to actually get somewhere with the kid. Even if it took her the whole day, which it most probably would. If she was going to be stuck with the kid until Safi figured this whole thing out, it would at the very least be with comfortable silences, and not arguments.

The longer she sat there, her hands awkwardly stroking the enormous creature's head, Iseult started questioning her life choices more and more. There couldn't possibly be anything more pointless than what she was doing right now. The voice in her head shifted to her mother's as she thought that, so Iseult chose to ignore it. It was for the best.

Iseult would never admit it, at least not out loud, but there was a hidden joy in spiting Gretchya, even if she wasn't there to see it. Safi would have be delighted to hear that, which was precisely why she didn't know. Burning clothes would be nothing compared to the chaos she'd cause if she knew Iseult wanted it too.

But it would be a while before she could disappoint her mother again. A long while. For now, she would have to satisfy with trying to befriend a small, complicated person and her failed scientifical experiment. 

Well, she had one of those down, judging by how the creature wrapped up around her legs when she stood up. It was already time to go. 

To Iseult's surprise, the kid didn't leave her side while they were walking. It was probably because her own personal beast took a liking to Iseult, but that didn't change the fact that the kid wasn't dragging it away from her anymore. 

Maybe Safi was right. Maybe it was easy to get into the kid's good books - well, not books, she doubted the small thing coud actually read. It was Iseult's own fault for not trying.

And the beast wasn't all that bad, either, even though it smelled so tragically awful. Living in the woods would do that to anyone and anything, she knew, but she hated that she had to deal with it upclose like this.

At least making her nose wish it could fall off was the only harmful thing that it did so far. It wouldn't be the first time Iseult misjudged something, not at all, but this time it was the only logical conclusion. Huge things that shouldn't exist were usually bad news. And this one was...it would be too much to call it cute, because it was still strange and enormous and _it smelled so bad_ .

But Iseult would be lying if she said she minded that it liked her. Maybe she had a few problems with how close it was to her. That was easy to ignore, though. And if it helped her make nice with the kid, it was worth it.

They were far from the part of the forest where they had found the creature. It was most likely the only place it knew. But it didn't seem afraid at all. Iseult would have assumed it had no emotions, but everything and everyone had those. She knew well how efortlessly some people could push them down, but they were always there somewhere. 

Iseult believed that the beast had emotions too, and that it was happy. What other reason was there for it to walk on the groung (which looked rather unnatural) when it could fly? It seemed to be just as attached to the kid as she was to it. And it seemed to be getting attached to Iseult too. Not to mention it was literally attached to her.

Until it wasn't. At first Iseult didn't realise that it got separated from her and the kid, and since they were at the end of the line, there was no one to tell them. But then the creature let out a sound like no other Iseult had ever heard before. 

It was a sad sound, definitely. Iseult didn't like it. And she didn't like the look on the kid's face when they turned around to see that her huge new pet got stuck in some thorny plant. 

The kid ran to it immediately, as if it was a life or death situation. Iseult had to admire the bond that was already between them within a few hours of knowing each other. 

But it wasn't nearly as dangerous a situation as the kid made it out to be. Iseult walked over slowly, and she didn't need more than ten minutes to untangle the mess of thorns around the creature's wings. 

It wrapped itself around her once again, but while it was just the wings before, now it completely pushed all its weight onto her. Somehow, Iseult wouldn't have minded if not for the awful smell. They needed to give the beat a bath as soon as it was possible.

The kid looked impressed, even if it was just quick hand work that anyone could have done. Iseult was never particularly gifted with telling what people were feeling just from face and body language, courtesy of being raised by her mother, but just this once, she knew she was right.

"You saved Blueberry!," the kid exclaimed. She said little, so it was...something. Iseult couldn't help the smile that grew on her face. _Take that, mum._

If Iseult had to guess what an animal called Blueberry looked like, she'd probably say it was one of those small purse dogs. Not...whatever Blueberry actually was. Calling him "a crime against humanity" was absurd, according to Safi. She seemingly had a bone to pick with everything one of their travel companions said, and she acted like a kid on a Christmas morning whenever she'd get the chance to make fun of him. It happened surprisingly often, if only because the guy never closed his mouth.

But that didn't matter now. What mattered was that Iseult "saved" Blueberry and that it apparently got her into the kid's good books. Safi was going to be so proud of her.

**Author's Note:**

> This started out as a crackfic but now I have an actual plot and a platform to post it so you all just have to deal with it


End file.
